The Guardians have one of those problems every front office wants and still has to solve: too many first basemen, not enough places to put them.
At the center of it is Ralphy Velazquez, the 21-year-old left-handed hitter who looks like Cleveland’s long-term answer at first base. But the Guardians are not rushing to make the handoff just yet, even after the kind of season that had fans wondering in September why his bat wasn’t in the majors while the team was chasing a division title and looking for offense.
Velazquez split 2026 between Double-A and Triple-A and put together a loud line: 29 home runs and a .927 OPS. That production made him the obvious headliner in the Guardians’ first-base picture, but organizationally, the timing still matters.
Guardians beat writer Paul Hoynes laid out the thinking behind the slowdown. “Whenever he’s moved up a level, it’s taken him a while to adjust, to get his feet wet, get used to the pitching at that level, and then he kind of takes it off,” Hoynes said. “So it makes sense he would open the year at Triple-A, get on a roll, and if they needed him in Cleveland, he would be called up.”
There’s also a roster wrinkle working in Cleveland’s favor. Velazquez was left off the 40-man roster in September, and that decision keeps him in a position to keep developing in the minors if the major league season is delayed or disrupted after December 1st because of a possible labor stoppage. In other words, he’s not stuck sitting in limbo.
The bigger issue is what happens around him. The Guardians also have Kyle Manzardo and Nathaniel Lowe in the mix, and all three are left-handed hitting first basemen.
Lowe arrived at the trade deadline and gave Cleveland what Hoynes described as a productive boost, especially in the postseason. But a return in 2027 sounds unlikely.
“I would imagine he would not be back next year,” Hoynes said. “He’s a classic guy you pick up for the stretch run, and that’s what stage of his career he’s in right now.”
That leaves Manzardo as the temporary answer. He hit 27 home runs two seasons ago and finished strong at Triple-A after being sent down once Lowe came in.
If Velazquez needs more time, Manzardo can hold the position for now. And if the roster picture gets too crowded, Hoynes pointed to another possibility: “He also, I guess, is at this stage could be a trade chip as well.”
There is some flexibility built into the roster. The designated hitter spot could help both Manzardo and Velazquez fit, and Velazquez has even gotten work in the outfield at Triple-A.
But the overlap is obvious. “You’re talking about three left-handed hitting first basemen,” Hoynes said.
“Manzo and Lowe are strictly first basemen-DH. That is a log jam.”
Even with all that, the long view is pretty straightforward. “Velazquez seems to be the future at first base,” Hoynes said, while adding the reality check that “we’ve said that about a lot of players until you get to see them for two or three years.”
For now, Cleveland has the talent. It has the depth. What it still needs is a clean way to sort out first base until Velazquez is ready to take over.
In Other News...
Guardians May Need A Painful Trade To Become A Real Threat
After pushing all the way to the American League Championship Series, the Guardians are heading into the offseason with a familiar question in front of them: how do they turn a strong young core into a roster that can survive the best teams in October? One path runs through the trade market, where Cleveland could look to add real impact rather than just depth, and the Los Angeles Angels loom as a possible match with infielder Zach Neto and pitcher Reid Detmers both drawing attention.
Neto would give the Guardians a versatile infield piece with upside, while Detmers offers the kind of arm that could deepen the rotation and change the shape of the staff. The problem is cost, and that is where things get complicated for a front office that has to weigh short-term gain against long-term control. A deal of that size could force Cleveland to put real prospect value on the table, with names like Ralphy Velazquez and Cooper Ingle among the kinds of assets that could come up in talks. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Bullpen Depth Just Got Murkier Heading Into Next Season
Clevelands bullpen picture for next season already had plenty of moving parts, and now two more names are back on the open market. Connor Brogdon and Carlos Hernandez have elected free agency after each was designated for assignment and spent time in the minors, leaving the Guardians with a little less certainty as they sort through relief options for the winter.
Brogdon logged 16 innings for Cleveland with a 5.06 ERA, while Hernandez worked three innings and posted a 6.00 ERA. Neither stint changed the broader conversation much, but both remain the kind of depth arms teams often keep in the pipeline, and there is still a chance the Guardians could bring one or both back on minor league deals depending on how the market develops. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians ALCS Exit Exposed A Problem Cleveland Cant Ignore
The Guardians ALCS loss to the Tampa Bay Rays left the same uncomfortable truth hanging over their winter plans: the offense simply did not do enough when the stage got bigger. Cleveland had trouble scoring consistently throughout the series, and the final three games underscored how quickly the lineup could stall when pressure mounted.
Several hitters finished the matchup with low averages, a reminder that the margin for error was thin once the pitching matchups tightened. If Cleveland wants to turn that October trip into something more lasting, the front office is staring at a clear to-do list that goes beyond one area, with the club expected to look for more help in the lineup, the bullpen and the rotation. [Read more 🡒]