The Guardians’ front office has a pair of dates circled this week, and both could shape the roster they carry into next season.
Tuesday is the first one. Cleveland has to set its 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft in December, and the club is sitting at 37 players right now. Then comes Friday, when the Guardians must decide whether to offer contracts to every unsigned player on that 40-man roster, including arbitration-eligible players and those who haven’t yet reached arbitration status.
Cleveland has a projected 13 players eligible for arbitration.
Under normal circumstances, this is the stretch where clubs make sure they don’t leave a prospect exposed to the Rule 5 Draft at the winter meetings in December. This year, though, the whole setup may end up looking different. The collective bargaining agreement between owners and players expires at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 1, and the owners are expected to lock out the players immediately as a bargaining tactic for a new agreement.
The last lockout came in December 2021 and lasted 99 days. During that stoppage, the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft was canceled, though the minor league phase still happened.
Even with that uncertainty hanging over the calendar, teams are still expected to move ahead with roster protection decisions. Players eligible for the Rule 5 Draft include those signed at 18 or younger who have spent five seasons in the minors, and those signed at 19 or older who have spent four seasons there.
For Cleveland, right-hander Justin Campbell, catcher Kody Huff, left-hander Franklin Gomez and outfielder Jaison Chourio are among the players it may weigh protecting.
The Guardians also added infielder Angel Genao, outfielder Kahlil Watson, right-hander Austin Peterson and right-hander Yorman Gomez following the 2025 season. Genao, Watson and Peterson all reached the majors in 2026, while Watson is currently coming back from sports hernia surgery.
Friday’s non-tender deadline brings another round of decisions, and the list of projected arbitration cases is a long one. According to MLB Trade Rumors, the 13 players and their estimated salaries are Steven Kwan at $11.3 million, Jo Addell at $9.6 million, Cade Smith at $5.5 million, Gavin Williams at $4.8 million, Patrick Bailey at $2.3 million, Colin Holderman at $2.3 million, Brayan Rocchio at $3.1 million, Hunter Gaddis at $2.2 million, Slade Cecconi at $2 million, David Fry at $1.9 million, Matt Festa at $1.5 million, Tim Herrin at $1.3 million and Blake Perkins at $900,000.
If Cleveland doesn’t tender a contract to a player by Friday, he becomes a free agent. Holderman, who is recovering from surgery on his right wrist, along with Fry and Perkins, could be non-tender candidates.
Fry has been with the Guardians since 2021, but his role shrank this season as he hit .201 with eight homers and 20 RBI in 91 games. He appeared in only three postseason at-bats.
The club could also work out a lower-priced deal with a player before deciding to non-tender him.
A year ago, Cleveland non-tendered outfielder Will Brennan, left-hander Sam Hentges and right-hander Nic Enight. The Guardians did, however, tender contracts to Festa, Fry and Nolan Jones.
Kwan and Adell are both under team control through the 2027 season. Chris Antonetti said he expects Kwan to open the 2027 season with the Guardians.
Kwan made $7.725 million last season, while Adell came over from the Angels at the trade deadline and drove in 32 runs in 48 games after the deal. It would be a surprise if Cleveland moved on from him, especially with the lineup leaning left and Adell giving them a right-handed power bat in the middle.
There’s also a coaching addition taking shape. The Guardians aren’t confirming it, but they appear to have hired Alex Burg as a quality control coach on the big-league staff. Burg served as the Giants’ field coordinator and catching coach, and he’d be reunited with Patrick Bailey, the two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Cleveland acquired in May from San Francisco.
The staff has room for additions after Joe Torres was hired as the Reds pitching coach and assistant hitting coach Junior Betances took on other duties.
And a few familiar names are moving around the league. David Bell, who played for the Indians in 1995 and 1998, has stepped down as assistant GM with the Blue Jays.
Former Guardians outfield coach Kyle Hudson is now Detroit’s first base coach after beginning last season as Boston’s third base coach before being let go when Alex Cora was fired in April. Jake Bauers, who became a postseason hero for the Brewers and was named NLCS MVP for the world champion Brewers, has signed a four-year, $58 million deal with the Red Sox.
Rob Cerfolio, Cleveland’s former director of player development, has been promoted to general manager with the Cardinals. And Frank Herrmann, who pitched for the Indians from 2010 through 2012, has been hired by the Yankees as supervisor of global evaluation after leaving Toronto.
In Other News...
Guardians May Have A Sensible Answer At First Base
The Guardians have spent plenty of time this winter looking for ways to squeeze more offense out of a lineup that could use another dependable bat, and first base stands out as one of the cleaner places to make a move. Free agent Ty France fits that conversation well. His 2026 work with the San Diego Padres gives Cleveland a recent example of a hitter who can help stabilize the position, while also giving the front office a chance to address an area that has not offered much certainty.
First base is still a spot where the Guardians can sort through internal options and prospects, but the appeal of a straightforward veteran answer is obvious when the roster is trying to improve without creating more holes elsewhere. The bigger picture remains the same, too: Cleveland needs offense, but it also needs pitching depth, so any move at first base has to fit a broader offseason plan rather than crowd it out. France may not solve everything, but he looks like the kind of practical addition that could make the rest of the puzzle easier to manage. [Read more 🡒]
Jo Adell Just Gave Guardians Fans Another Reason To Love Him
Jo Adells first season with the Guardians gave Cleveland plenty to like beyond the usual trade-deadline buzz. Acquired from the Angels during the 2026 season, Adell settled into a meaningful role and got his first taste of postseason baseball, adding a new layer to a year that already featured a strong offensive finish across 158 games.
The on-field production was only part of the appeal. Adell also marked a major personal milestone in November 2026, when he married Jazmine, giving Guardians fans another reason to feel invested in his story as he heads into the next chapter of his career. [Read more 🡒]
Emmanuel Clase Trial Puts Guardians In An Uncomfortable Spotlight
Federal court proceedings have put Emmanuel Clase and the Guardians in an uncomfortable spotlight, with prosecutors and defense attorneys both leaning on text messages tied to the closers alleged role in a pitch-rigging scheme. The messages at the center of the case were presented as evidence as the sides laid out sharply different interpretations of the language used in them, adding another layer of scrutiny to a situation that has already cast a long shadow over Cleveland.
Prosecutors say references to chickens and roosters were coded language meant to conceal the alleged scheme, while the defense insists those words were about legal cockfighting in the Dominican Republic. Clase and two others have been charged with conspiracy and deny the allegations, leaving the Guardians with an unsettling legal story that is still unfolding and could keep drawing attention well beyond the courtroom. [Read more 🡒]