Bleacher Report took a hard look at MLB ownership this week, and the Guardians ended up in a spot no fan base wants to see: on a list of eight franchises Zachary Rymer believes would be better off with a change at the top.
The ranking was prompted by the recent blockbuster sales of the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels. Using Forbes valuations cited in the piece, Rymer noted that the Padres started the year at 3.1 billion dollars and the Angels at 2.8 billion dollars, but those teams ultimately sold for a combined 7.9 billion dollars. That kind of money naturally turns the spotlight toward the next ownership groups that might be headed for an exit.
Cleveland’s Dolan family landed at No. 3.
Rymer pointed out that Paul Dolan bought the franchise for $323 million dollars in 2000, and that the club is now valued at 1.66 billion dollars. He gave the Guardians credit for being remarkably well run on the field for a small-market team, citing seven playoff appearances since 2016, a trip to the World Series that same year and an American League Championship Series appearance as recently as 2024.
Still, the payroll issue is the heart of the frustration.
“Like the Reds and Pirates, the Guardians are a small-market team. Unlike those two, they’re exceptionally well-run.
Even so, days when the Guardians carried top-10 payrolls in the early 2000s are still in living memory. It makes one wonder what the team might have accomplished over the last decade if it had ownership willing to push in more chips.
Alas, Guardians fans know better than to expect as much at this point,” Rymer wrote.
He expanded on that point by noting that Cleveland has usually sat in the bottom ten in payroll league-wide, and often in the bottom five, which stands in sharp contrast to the top-10 payrolls the organization carried in the early 2000s. Rymer credited Dolan with building around a strong front office that has delivered sustained success despite those financial limits, but he also wondered what this run of Guardians baseball might have looked like with more aggressive spending behind it.
There’s also a potential ownership shift already hanging over the franchise. Private equity investor David Blitzer bought a minority stake in the Guardians in 2022, and he could become the majority owner as soon as 2027, though that could be delayed depending on how things develop.
For now, Cleveland remains one of the sport’s most competitive small-market clubs. But the conversation around ownership investment isn’t going away anytime soon.
In Other News...
Former Guardians First Base Flier Is A Fresh Reminder Of Cleveland's Problem
Deyvison De Los Santos barely spent any time in Cleveland last spring, but his name still lingers as a reminder of the kind of upside the Guardians have been forced to chase at first base. He came through camp in 2024 as a Rule 5 flier, then went back to the Arizona Diamondbacks after the brief stint ended, a move that fit the clubs broader habit of looking for answers where there is some power, some potential and a fair amount of uncertainty.
Now De Los Santos is back in the conversation after the Miami Marlins called him up to replace infielder Leo Jimnez, with an opportunity to compete for an everyday roster spot. He already made his MLB debut earlier in 2024 and has flashed promise even while working through some rough stretches in Triple-A, which is exactly why his path stands out to Cleveland fans who know how thin the margin can be when a team is still searching for stability at the position. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Wasted A Promising Parker Messick Start For One Frustrating Reason
Parker Messick gave Cleveland plenty to build on in his latest outing, bringing swing-and-miss stuff from the start and working deep enough to hand the Guardians a chance against Detroit. The rookie left-hander was piling up strikeouts and had a career night in that department, but the line still turned frustrating quickly as the Tigers kept finding just enough damage to make the outing look far less clean than it felt at times.
Riley Greene, back from the injured list, was the difference. He saw Messick well all afternoon, finishing 3 for 3 and driving two balls out of the park, while Detroit got seven scoreless innings from Framber Valdez in a 6-0 shutout. For Cleveland, it was the kind of loss that leaves a young starter's best work buried under the one matchup the Guardians could not solve. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Have Two Lineup Concerns In A Tight Wild Card Race
The Guardians are getting to the stretch run with a little less certainty in the lineup than they would like, and both issues matter in a race where every game has weight. Rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter is day-to-day after spraining his right wrist in a recent game, while Jose Ramirez was held out for a planned day off as a precaution as he continues to work back from hand surgery.
For Cleveland, the concern is less about a single absent game than the timing of it all. DeLauter has given the club another young option in the outfield, and Ramirez remains the lineup anchor, so the Guardians will be watching both closely as they try to protect their spot in the American League wild card picture without letting a short-term health issue turn into something more troublesome. [Read more 🡒]