Guardians avoid arb with all 7 eligible players (sources)

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians avoided arbitration with all seven of their eligible players on Thursday.

Sources told MLB.com that Cleveland settled on one-year deals with ace Shane Bieber ($13.125 million), reliever Scott Barlow ($6.7 million), first baseman Josh Naylor ($6.55 million), reliever James Karinchak ($1.9 million), starter Triston McKenzie ($1.6 million), reliever Sam Hentges ($1.1625 million) and reliever Nick Sandlin ($1.075 million) on Thursday afternoon. The team had already locked up outfielder Ramón Laureano to a $5.15 million deal earlier this offseason.

The Guardians have been able to avoid arbitration hearings each year since 2019.

Barlow is primed to be the setup man to closer Emmanuel Clase. Hentges and Sandlin should fill similar roles in the ‘pen to the ones they have the past few seasons. But Karinchak will have to prove that he can get back to the 2020 version of himself, when he owned a 2.67 ERA in 27 appearances during the COVID-shortened season. He started off hot in ’21 before he lost a feel for his stuff in the middle of June and has struggled to regain the same consistency since.

There are no questions when it comes to Naylor. Although his name has popped up in trade rumors this winter, it would be shocking to see the Guardians -- who are focused on improving their offense -- part ways with arguably their best hitter from last season. Naylor enjoyed a career year, slashing .308/.354/.489 with 17 homers, and was rewarded for it on Thursday. The projections seem to believe that level of production (or close to it) is attainable for the first baseman. And if that’s the case, the Guardians will need his bat again in 2024.

It’s not until we get to the starters that more questions arise. For McKenzie, it’s all about health. He had a history of injuries in the Minor Leagues but had been durable for the Guardians through his first three seasons in the Majors. Last year, injuries were an issue again. He started the season with a shoulder strain that sidelined him until June. He made just two starts before elbow troubles kept him out again until the final week of the season. If he’s healthy in 2024, the Guardians know they can count on him. It’s just whether he can bounce back for an injury-free year that remains unknown.

And then there’s Bieber, who’s set to hit free agency at the end of the 2024 season. For now, he’s still the ace of this rotation. But the Guardians will need to determine if they’ll trade him before the season gets underway.

On paper, it might make more sense to hang on to the righty, considering the rotation is without Cal Quantrill (who was traded to the Rockies) and will once again be relying on three young starters in Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen. Their starting pitching depth isn’t as full as they probably would like it to be, and if Bieber is out of the mix, that depth would be stretched tremendously thin. Plus, the starter’s trade value isn’t what it used to be.

However, the Guardians rarely let starting pitchers walk into free agency, which is why the idea that he’ll be traded is still on the table. Maybe they will find a trade partner to meet their asking price before Spring Training. They could also bank on Bieber having a strong first half of the season and move him to a contending team at the Trade Deadline to try to capitalize on whatever trade value he’d have left. If nothing else, they can rely on him with a young -- and thin -- rotation and hand him a qualifying offer at the end of the season to get a Draft pick in return.

The Guardians have a few more weeks to get a better idea of which path they want to take.