Examining Guardians' to-do list before next season
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This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell's Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
It¡¯s time to get the offseason started.
The quiet period is over. Free agents are ready to be signed. Clubs are starting conversations with one another, trying to figure out how to get better. Everyone¡¯s blueprint should be set. Now, it just comes down to execution. Let¡¯s take a look at three things we learned from Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti¡¯s media session on Tuesday.
1. Pitching is the priority
Is anyone surprised?
The Guardians are shockingly thin in the starting pitching department for the first time in a while. Tanner Bibee will be back. Gavin Williams will look to be more consistent in 2025. Ben Lively will have to try to repeat what he did in ¡¯24. Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen will try to fix what went wrong this past year. Joey Cantillo will need to take a leap forward.
But what else is there?
¡°That¡¯s an area where we¡¯re focused,¡± Antonetti said. ¡°I think there¡¯s two elements to it, though. I think first and foremost we have to help the guys that are here continue to develop and get better and contribute. ... Then we¡¯ll always be looking for opportunities to complement them. Our success is going to be dependent upon how well we do with developing the guys that are here.¡±
Maybe the Guardians try to make a trade for a starting pitcher. Maybe they look for new faces on the free-agent market. But they¡¯ve already expressed interest in bringing back Shane Bieber, Matthew Boyd and/or Alex Cobb.
¡°It seems like they all have interest,¡± Antonetti said, ¡°but they¡¯re all at a point where they get to explore what the market is and see what other options they might have.¡±
2. Eyes are on bats, too
The offense needs a boost.
That could be in the outfield. Lane Thomas could move back to right field and the Guardians may be able to find an everyday center fielder. Maybe they just go for a right fielder and leave Thomas in center. With David Fry now on the sidelines until at least next summer after having elbow surgery just a few days ago, they can find a bat to get some DH time, too.
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Could a reunion with free agent Carlos Santana be in the Guardians¡¯ future? Could the Guardians land an outfielder like Tyler O¡¯Neill, who had 31 homers in ¡¯24, if he¡¯d be OK moving to right field? (I don¡¯t see the Guardians moving Steven Kwan from left field.) Will they try to take from their bullpen depth to pull off a trade that could bring back an impact bat?
¡°If we can add a bat somewhere, that¡¯s something we¡¯ll always be open to,¡± Antonetti said. ¡°But starting pitching is a place where we probably spend the most time.¡±
3. Gim¨¦nez will get reps at short
The Guardians have always been reluctant to move Andr¨¦s Gim¨¦nez from second base simply because he¡¯s proven to be the best at his position in the American League. If it¡¯s not broken, why fix it?
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The rationale behind moving him to shortstop in the past was maybe there would be a better bat (like Juan Brito) to take over at second base, while Gim¨¦nez shifts to shortstop. Now, all eyes turn to Travis Bazzana, this year¡¯s No. 1 overall Draft pick.
The second baseman from Australia could be on the fast track to the Majors. If he¡¯s able to make his debut by the end of the ¡¯25 season, the Guardians will need to have the flexibility to move Gim¨¦nez to shortstop.
¡°It¡¯s always helpful to have versatility,¡± Antonetti said. ¡°So Gim¨¦, throughout the season on his own, continued to take ground balls at shortstop, and we¡¯ve encouraged him this winter to continue to get reps at short so that¡¯s always an option."