The offseason is just about over. Pitchers and catchers report later next week, and from there, the Cleveland Guardians will start their journey to win the American League Central for a third consecutive season and get back to the postseason to make a World Series push.

Cleveland fell short of its ultimate goal in 2025, and the front office was adamant about where the team must improve over the offseason, but it didn’t make improvements in all those areas.

Considering all the moves the Guardians have made this winter, here’s what I think their offseason grade should be. 

I think a grade of C- is fair, but there is a contingency attached to it.

Obviously, the elephant in the room is that the offense, which finished with the second-worst OPS in MLB a year ago, didn’t add any new bats outside of the organization on a Major League deal, outside of Austin Hedges.

Chris Antonetti said over the offseason that the team had discussions with veteran free agents, but couldn’t guarantee them playing time ahead of the young core.

It still would have been wise to add a proven big-league bat to the roster, given how young and injury-prone the team is, and Cleveland's grade reflects that, but it’s also understandable for the front office to want to see what they have in their highly touted prospects.

That said, given how much Antonetti has said the team wants the young core to play, they need to give them that opportunity right away. Chase DeLauter needs to be in the Opening Day lineup, Juan Brito needs to be with the team within the first month, and Travis Bazzana should be in the mix by June at the latest.

If the young players aren’t given the opportunities right out of the gate, the contingency on this grade will kick in and dramatically drop the overall offseason rating.

Outside of the offense, Cleveland did make some moves to improve its reliever depth, and a lot have the potential to be incredibly impactful later in the season. Shawn Armstrong is a proven high-leverage reliever, Colin Holderman has the chance to have a bounce-back season, and Peyton Pallette is an intriguing Rule 5 selection.

After the front office said they needed to upgrade the bullpen depth, they did just that, which deserves points. 

To wrap the winter, the Guardians also signed Jose Ramirez to a contract extension that’ll keep him in Cleveland throughout his career.

Overall, the Guardians may not have made the big moves that many were hoping for, but they did make marginal moves that could help on the pitching side of things. Time will tell whether it’s enough. 

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