The Cleveland Guardians' 40-man roster is loaded with left-handed hitters.
The Cleveland Guardians’ 40-man roster has been in the spotlight over the last week, especially with the recent prospect additions and non-tender news.
At this point in the offseason, the Guardians roster is at 38 players, but as Cespedes Family BBQ on X noticed, Cleveland has a surplus of something on their roster: left-handed hitting.
As it stands, the Guardians have 10 left-handed hitters currently on the 40-man roster. That’s tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the most of any team in the big leagues.
The left-handed hitters currently on Cleveland’s 40-man roster include:
- Bo Naylor
- C.J. Kayfus
- Chase DeLauter
- Daniel Schneemann
- George Valera
- Kahlil Watson
- Nolan Jones
- Petey Halpin
- Kyle Manzardo
- Steven Kwan
Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor (23), right, celebrates a 3-run home run against against Detroit Tigers during the eighth inning of Game 2 of AL wild-card series at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.On the flip side of this, Cleveland only has five right-handed hitters on the roster, which is the second-fewest in the big leagues.
Clearly, the Guardians have a surplus of lefties on their roster, which, by itself, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But when you look at how this abundance of heavy hitters from one side of the plate affects Cleveland’s platoon numbers, it could be a cause for concern.
The Guardians had a team slashline of .224/.290/.357 against southpaws during the 2025 season. Plus, their .647 OPS against lefties was the worst in the American League. Out of this group, the player with the highest wRC+ against left-handed pitching was Manzardo, with a wRC+ of 83.
Right-handed hitters are historically a better matchup against left-handed pitching, and clearly, that’s not a luxury the Guardians have right now.
this many left-handed hitters isn’t something the front office needs to immediately address by trading anyone away, especially with a number of the lefties' young and promising players.
That said, as Chris Antonetti continues on to construct the big league roster for the 2026 season, he may want to add a proven righty bat that has a history of success against lefties. Or, could the Guardians look to a trade to balance out the number of lefties versus the number of righties on the roster?
This roster makeup will certainly be something to watch this winter.