The Cleveland Guardians had a surprisingly great 2024 season, even though they lost Game 5 to the Yankees and missed out on the World Series again. They haven’t won it all since 1948, but there’s still hope for the future.
With a new manager, Stephen Vogt, at the helm, the team improved significantly from their previous season’s record of 76 wins to an impressive 92 victories. They clinched the AL Central title by a comfortable margin of 6.5 games. Despite this success, fans might still focus on their long championship drought.
The team’s strategy is simple: keep building strong teams that can make it to the postseason because anything can happen once they’re there .
Offseason Changes Ahead
As we look ahead to what’s next for the Guardians, some players are likely saying goodbye. Shane Bieber is entering free agency and probably won’t return. Carlos Carrasco is also leaving as his contract ends. Alex Cobb and Matthew Boyd were short-term additions whose deals are up too. Austin Hedges will be exploring free agency as well.
That’s pretty much it for departures!
Key Players Staying Put
The Guardians have some important players locked in for several more years. José RamÃrez will be around until 2028 and Andrés Giménez until 2029. Myles Straw’s contract runs through 2026, although that hasn’t been a great deal so far. Trevor Stephan is signed through at least 2026 with options available, just like Emmanuel Clase who will earn $4.9 million next year.
Josh Naylor enters his final arbitration year before becoming a free agent after next season; his power makes him hard to trade away! Lane Thomas also hits his last arbitration year—will they trade him or keep him?
Fans might wonder if these moves will finally break their World Series curse!
Strong Core Moving Forward
Looking toward 2025, here’s how things stack up:
– Catcher: Bo Naylor
– First Base: Josh Naylor
– Second Base: Andrés Giménez
– Third Base: José RamÃrez
– Shortstop: Brayan Rocchio
– Outfielders include Steven Kwan and Jhonkensy Noel
There’s plenty of young talent here; improvement from players like Bo Naylor or Kyle Manzardo could really help them shine offensively!
Their bullpen looks solid too with Stephan returning alongside James Karinchak joining forces with Clase plus others like Cade Smith & Hunter Gaddis readying themselves again next season…though bullpens can be unpredictable beasts indeed!
Focus on Pitching Rotation
This offseason should see attention shift towards strengthening starting pitching depth given current uncertainties surrounding Tanner Bibee (the ace), Gavin Williams’ inconsistency despite potential promise shown early-on during rookie campaign alongside Logan Allen needing prove himself further after mixed results lately…
Triston McKenzie hopes bounce back following injury-plagued seasons while Joey Cantillo displayed glimpses brilliance amid struggles typical rookies face adjusting big leagues quickly enough yet remains hopeful future contributions forthcoming soon enough perhaps?
Ben Lively served admirably mid-rotation role throughout last year despite questions remaining regarding sustainability moving forward into age-thirty-three campaign looming large over horizon already casting shadows doubts amongst skeptics alike pondering possibilities awaiting beyond mere speculation alone…
Should they bring back Boyd? His value was evident late-season but competition fierce among interested teams vying services elsewhere potentially driving price higher than usual under Dolans’ budget constraints limiting flexibility somewhat frustratingly so unfortunately…
Without top-level prospects emerging internally anytime soon either means exploring external options such as Cole Irvin maybe Andrew Heaney instead? 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What do you think about all these changes?