Chris Antonetti has spent more than a decade steering the Guardians’ front office, and that history tends to point in a pretty clear direction when free agency rolls around. Cleveland usually shops in the same aisle: value contracts, imperfect fits and players who can be squeezed into a roster without blowing up the budget.
That makes this group of possible targets feel familiar. Some are better fits than others, and a couple probably shouldn’t happen at all. But all five line up with the kind of moves Antonetti’s team has made before.
The cleanest example of that mold is Paul Blackburn. MLB Trade Rumors’ free-agent predictions were the only place Blackburn was linked to the Guardians, and it makes sense.
He brings the swingman profile the club has shown interest in, but without the same durability questions attached to Dustin May or Nick Pivetta. He also comes at a budget-friendly price, which matters here.
Blackburn doesn’t miss a ton of bats, but he did finish last season in the 86th percentile in ground ball rate and did a solid job keeping the ball off the barrel. It wouldn’t be a loud signing.
It would be a very Guardians signing.
Pivetta sits much higher on the list because Cleveland already made a serious run at him after the 2024 season. Now the door is open again after the Padres declined his team option for 2027.
The catch is obvious: he was limited to just eight starts last season because of a right elbow flexor strain, which is why his player option for 2027 turned into that team option in the first place. San Diego signed him to a four-year, $55 million contract in the same offseason Cleveland chased him, and the Padres’ willingness to let him hit the market now says plenty.
The Guardians could get a discount if they want to try again.
Dustin May is another pitcher who fits the general Cleveland pattern, even if the injury history is the big warning label. He began his career as a breakout starter with the Dodgers, then lost nearly two years after Tommy John surgery in 2023.
This season he was better and worked in a swingman role for the Brewers before declining his part of a mutual option and heading into free agency. The Guardians don’t usually go outside the organization to patch up the rotation, but they have made a habit of trying to fix injured arms.
May would fit that lane.
At the plate, Michael Conforto checks a lot of the same boxes Cleveland has targeted before. He hit .240/.331/.469 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI in 113 games with the Cubs, and he looks like the kind of player who could land on a deal under $10 million.
That would put him in the same general category as the Guardians’ signing of Carlos Santana two years ago. Conforto has handled lefties well over his career and owns a .414 batting average in nine career games at Progressive Field.
Even so, there doesn’t appear to be any real room for him in Cleveland’s outfield, which may be enough to keep Antonetti from going down that road.
Paul Goldschmidt is the most recognizable name on the list, but the fit is still the issue. He posted a .252/.313/.452 line with 18 homers and 52 RBI in 105 games with the Yankees, and the Guardians already showed last offseason that they’re willing to chase this type of bat by signing Rhys Hoskins.
Goldschmidt would help against left-handed pitching, but he would also block top prospect Ralphy Velazquez. That makes him another budget signing that probably shouldn’t happen.
In Other News...
Guardians May Have Their First Base Answer Closer Than Expected
Ralphy Velazquezs rise through the Guardians system has given the organization something it has been searching for at first base: a real internal option with impact upside. After being drafted in 2023 as a catcher and quickly shifted to first base, he put together a breakout 2026 season that showed why Cleveland has kept moving him along, combining power and contact across Double-A and Triple-A while looking like a bat that could fit sooner rather than later.
For a club that has been looking for more offense at that spot, Velazquezs development has become one of the more intriguing storylines in the system. The Guardians are expected to at least consider him for a major league look in 2027, and if his bat keeps trending the way it did this year, the question may not be whether he belongs in the conversation but how soon they are willing to make room for him. [Read more 🡒]
Chase DeLauter Has A Strong Rookie Of The Year Case
Chase DeLauter spent enough of the season making noise that his name belongs in the Rookie of the Year conversation even if it never made the finalist list. The Cleveland outfielders offensive production stacked up well against the 2026 finalists, and when you line his numbers up beside Kevin McGonigles, the gap is not nearly as wide as the voting results suggest. For a player who has already given the Guardians a real look at his ceiling, that alone is a meaningful sign of where his rookie year landed.
The separation came more from the fuller picture than from the bat alone, with WAR and games played helping explain why the finalists ended up where they did. DeLauter can still make a legitimate case that he belonged in that group, and Cleveland fans have every reason to view him as one of the seasons most impressive first-year performers. Even so, the voters choices are easy enough to understand, which is part of what makes DeLauters season feel both encouraging and just a little unfinished. [Read more 🡒]
Steven Kwan Twist Could Change Clevelands Winter Trade Plans
A potential winter market wrinkle could shape how the Guardians handle Steven Kwan, even if the club has not shown any urgency to move him. MLB Networks Jon Morosi reported that players with one year of team control left are unlikely to be dealt for prospects this month because of uncertainty surrounding the 2027 season and the possibility of a lockout, which could make teams think twice about paying that kind of price.
For Cleveland, that matters because Chris Antonetti has already framed Kwan as an important piece of the 2027 roster picture. If the market stays quiet and clubs lean toward swapping pending free agents for one another instead of sacrificing younger talent, Kwan could wind up staying put, leaving the Guardians to navigate a winter trade plan that looks a lot different than it might have a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]