DALLAS -- The Guardians made the most of their time in Dallas.

If there were questions as to whether Cleveland would be done after re-signing free agent starter Shane Bieber on a one-year deal, that was answered with a definite ¡°no.¡± The Guardians traded Andrés Giménez and Nick Sandlin for Spencer Horwitz, who they promptly flipped to Pittsburgh for three other starters. One of which, Luis Ortiz, will be ready to enter the Major League rotation next season.

• Guards re-sign Bieber to one-year deal
• Guards re-sign Hedges to one-year deal
• Guards trade 2B Gim¨¦nez, RHP Sandlin in three-team swap

It doesn¡¯t seem like the organization is done exploring its options, either. Just because the Guardians have locked up Austin Hedges and Bieber -- and have also made a big trade to free up some money and add to their pitching depth -- doesn¡¯t mean there¡¯s nothing left in the tank.

BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS
1. Starting pitching: Yes, they need more starting pitching. Bieber will be great once he¡¯s healthy, but that may not happen until June or July. Ortiz will be huge in helping Cleveland bridge the gap to get its ace back in the rotation, but even still, the team doesn¡¯t quite have a comfortable amount of depth.

Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Ben Lively and Ortiz will probably be rotation locks. Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen will have to prove their 2024 struggles are behind them. Joey Cantillo will compete for a spot, but doesn¡¯t have the same level of experience as the others. No. 25 prospect Doug Nikhazy will be in the mix, but he still may need more time before he¡¯s Major League ready. If the Guardians have an opportunity to add to this pipeline, they¡¯ll take it.

2. Outfield bat: Any kind of bat that may be able to add some thump to this lineup will do, but an outfielder might make the most sense for the Guardians. They were clear when they spoke at the Winter Meetings that if they are going to add some offensive help, it has to also fit defensively. The last thing Cleveland wants to do is create a logjam at a position that has Major League-ready prospects or active players already set to take those roles. The Guardians could add a center fielder or right fielder without rocking the boat. The team said it is comfortable with Lane Thomas at either of those positions, so whichever one it can add externally, Thomas will handle the other.

RULE 5 DRAFT
The Guardians¡¯ 40-man roster sat at 39 players going into the Rule 5 Draft, so while they did have an opening to make a selection, the club opted against doing so in the Major League portion of the draft.

Cleveland did lose shortstop Christian Cairo to the Braves in the Major League phase, however. Cairo was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 Draft and reached Triple-A Columbus this past season.

The Guardians selected shortstop Will Wilson from the Giants¡¯ Double-A roster in the Minor League portion. He¡¯s a versatile defender with some upside on offense. At the same time, Cleveland also lost outfielder Luis Durango (Single-A) to the Yankees, and lefties Randy Labaut (Double-A) and Steve Hajjar (Double-A) to the Pirates in the Minor League phase.

GM¡¯S BOTTOM LINE
The Guardians brought back their ultimate clubhouse guy in Hedges. They¡¯ve started to add to their starting pitching depth with Bieber and Ortiz. Now what?

¡°We¡¯ll continue to look at opportunities to improve,¡± Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. ¡°If there are additional ways to add to the group of starting pitchers we¡¯ll have, that¡¯s an avenue we can continue to look at and then be open-minded on the position player front.¡±

¡°The success of our season next year is similar to what it was this year: it¡¯s going to be dictated by the guys that we have,¡± Guardians general manager Mike Chernoff added.

The Guardians do have a little bit of financial flexibility now that they know they have approximately $97 million off the books from the remainder of Gim¨¦nez¡¯s contract. That could be something that helps them before Opening Day.

¡°I think we always are looking to reinvest back into the team,¡± Antonetti said. ¡°Whatever revenues that are available to us get poured back into the organization and to the team. I expect that to be the case. Exactly how we deploy that or what that looks like, I don¡¯t have those answers today.¡±