Smith was sp good all season, I wonder if his role could change? Clase is still the ultimate closer and I doubt they'd move Smith to the rotation; so I'll keep him where he is for a two-headed bullpen pair of aces.

Stephen Vogt has been named Manager of the Year by The Sporting News.

civ ollilavad wrote: Sun Nov 03, 2024 9:46 am Smith was sp good all season, I wonder if his role could change? Clase is still the ultimate closer and I doubt they'd move Smith to the rotation; so I'll keep him where he is for a two-headed bullpen pair of aces.

Love that take civ.

I do know one thing about this bullpen the will not be repeating the freakish feats they accomplished this year. Who can say what the 2nd season for Gaddis, Smith and other really young arms? Remember Trevor Stephan? Stuff happens! (Though perhaps Stephan can come back next season and contribute)

On a related topic I hope the front office isn't too overconfident of this team overtall because the bullpen literally carried this team and they can't expect a repeat of a historic season. We have some great pieces but starting pitching should be the priority with 2nd priority seeing if they can trade for a bat.

It's unfortunate that there aren't any minor league starters close to the big time yet.
Comebacks from Williams and Allen would be greatly appreciated!
There does seem to be a thing about Logan Allens going one good year and then flaming out. I'm not giving up on Logan II yet.

Bullpen depth for 2025 has already been developed with Walters and surprisingly Sabrowski. Add back Stephan to Clase, Gaddis, Herrin, Smith and Morgan there are 7 talented arms and if 5 of them are solid we will retain deep depth.

Perhaps lefty Ryan Webb who had a good fall 2023 and summer 2024 could graduate to the back of the rotation sometime in 2025.
BTW, when I looked up his stats I was reminded that like Logan Allens, he would be our second Ryan Webb: his predecessor pitched 40 games in relief for us in 2015

And there's of course always the hope and the prayer for Daniel Espino super prospect when rarely available

Maybe I need to edit my own opinions about starting depth after looking at the Rule 5 eligibles and being reminded that all of LH Webb, LH Doug Nikhazy; and RH had really good seasons in Akron and the first two did well after promotions to Columbus. See stats posted in Minor Matters.

Guardians All-Star 2025 Season Debut Unknown After Offseason Surgery


David Fry of the Cleveland Guardians underwent elbow surgery which will delay his start to the 2025 MLB season.


Tommy Wild | 34 Minutes Ago



The Cleveland Guardians' offseason is not off to a great start. The team announced that their All-Star designated hitter, David Fry, underwent elbow surgery last Wednesday, making his 2025 season debut a massive unknown.

Here's what the organization had to say about Fry's injury and procedure:


"Due to right elbow discomfort during the latter part of the 2024 Season, David Fry was evaluated by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, October 29. After conferring with Cleveland Guardians' physicians and his own clinical evaluation, Dr. Meister confirmed the presence of a chronically insufficient ulnar collateral ligament with a resolving flexor strain of Fry's right elbow. Dr. Meister recommended Fry undergo a surgical procedure and subsequently utilized a hybrid/internal brace and tendon graft reconstruction technique to address the insufficient ligament last Wednesday, October 30 in Dallas, TX. Rehabilitation/recovery is expected to be in the 6-8 month range from a return to hit/DH standpoint and 12 months for a return to game activity from a position player standpoint."



Fry, a first-time All-Star in '24, was a critical piece for the Guardians early in the season because of his defensive versatility. He played first base, catcher, and even some outfield before he exited a game on June 23 with what the team called right elbow inflammation.

This injury never forced Fry to the injured list, but he did take a few games off and rarely played on the field after this game.



If the recovery time goes as planned, Fry may be able to return to the field as the team's designated hitter in June or July. However, he still won't be able to play for another full season in the field.

Fry played a critical piece in the Guardians 2024 ALCS run. He had a .286 batting average and a .869 OPS, including two home runs during the postseason. One of the home runs was a go-ahead two-run shot in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers, and the other was a walk-off homer in the extra inning of Game 3 against the New York Yankees.


Cleveland will miss Fry's power, and now they have even more pressure to add another bat this offseason.

Published 34 Minutes Ago

MLB determined a Dominican Republic teenage prospect set to sign in 2027 falsified his age by five years.

Brings memories of Roberto Hernandez, a.k.a. Fausto Carmona. Of course this kid hadn't even got his first pro contract and added 5 years to his age of 15. Roberto/Fausto wasn't that egregious in his redefinition.

Guardians Sign Veteran Free Agent Catcher To One-Year Deal

Story by Tommy Wild • 2h • 2 min read

The Cleveland Guardians opted not to wait until the weeks before spring training to enter the fee agency market this offseason.

The organization announced on Wednesday afternoon that they re-signed veteran catcher Austin Hedges to a one-year deal. The two sides reportedly expressed mutual interest the moment the season ended, and the Guardians didn't wait long to officially bring him back into the organization.

It's not too surprising that Hedges chose to return to Cleveland. Even after the Guardians were eliminated in the ALCS, he talked about "next year" and what the team needed to do to get back to the postseason, and it certainly sounded like he'd be a part of that.


This may not seem like a significant signing to those outside of the organization. Still, Hedges' impact off the field can't be overlooked when analyzing Cleveland's overachieving season from a year ago.

Yes, he only appeared in 65 games behind the plate and hit .152/.203/.423 in 132 at-bats. However, traditional stats can't always value every player's impact.

Hedges was routinely called the heart and soul of the Guardians clubhouse and, along with rookie manager Stephen Vogt, established a mindset early on in the season that each game of the 162-game season had value and purpose. This led to Cleveland's hot start in April and May, which they used to coast into the postseason.


For now, it appears Cleveland's Opening Day catching plan is to have Bo Naylor as their starter and primary backstop, with Hedges as his backup and locker room leader once again.

Makes sense for several reasons including the absence of Fry behind the plate all summer, Hedges' leadership skills and defensive skills and mentoring to Naylor, and the absence of a solid major league-ready option in the minors.

So the roster is back to 39

Jim Bowden

Cleveland Guardians
Improve starting pitching and add a bat, likely in the outfield

The Guardians made it to the ALCS with the youngest roster in the major leagues, which bodes well for the future. Cleveland is loaded with players who aren’t yet eligible for arbitration, making a splash move much easier than in prior years. They will focus on improving the starting rotation and will pursue former Guardians Shane Bieber and Matthew Boyd in free agency. They’d also like to add an impact bat; in all likelihood, it will be an outfielder.

Could anyone disagree with that interpretation?

Guardians Prospective
@CleGuardPro


Cleveland #Guardians have signed 29-year-old LHP Parker Mushinski to a minor league contract for the 2025 season with an invite to MLB spring training.

Mushinski had spent his entire professional career with Houston since being drafted by the Astros back in 2017.

The Guardians are in agreement with lefty reliever Parker Mushinski on a minor league contract, reports Chandler Rome of the Athletic (on X). He’ll be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Mushinski had been with the Astros since they drafted him in the seventh round in 2017. The Texas Tech product pitched in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons. Mushinski hasn’t found much success, turning in a 5.45 ERA across 33 career innings. He has a below-average 17.4% strikeout rate over that stretch. Mushinski only fanned three hitters in 11 innings this year, leading the Astros to outright him off the 40-man roster in September. He became a minor league free agent at season’s end.

Things have generally gone better at the Triple-A level. Mushinski carries a 3.68 ERA over parts of four seasons in the Pacific Coast League. The majority of that success came between 2022-23. He had a tough season in the minors this year, allowing 5.44 earned runs per nine through 44 2/3 innings.

Funny story, not worth copying, at MLB.com rating the 30 major league team rosters "as they are now" i.e. with free agents deleted from the end of season rosters and no signings anticipated, The World Series winners rank No. 1
The runners up minus Soto and others rank No 5
The NL runners up, 14 of whose players are now free agents, rank No. 18
The AL runners up, none of whose post-season roster is a free agent, rank No. 15; behind the AL Central 4th place Twins [6] and 3rd place Royals [12]

I wonder how that team could have reached the League Championship game without any talent?