The Guardians are set to lose one of the people working out of the spotlight on their hitting-development side, with Conner Watson leaving Cleveland to become the Astros’ director of hitting.
Watson spent the past two seasons as Cleveland’s assistant director of hitting development, operating largely behind the scenes within the organization’s player development setup in Arizona. Before arriving in Cleveland, he brought a resume that fit the Guardians’ modern approach: three years as a lead instructor at Driveline Baseball’s Arizona facility. That background in data-driven hitting work made him a natural fit for an organization that has leaned more and more on technology, analytics and individualized instruction across its minor league system.
His move to Houston is another sign that Cleveland’s development operation has become a target for other clubs. The Guardians have earned praise for the way they’ve helped young hitters improve, and president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti pointed to that progress last week, saying the team made “meaningful strides” offensively in 2026, especially with younger players taking steps forward.
Even so, the results didn’t fully catch up to the development. Cleveland still ranked near the bottom of the majors in run production in 2026, despite winning a third straight AL Central title.
Watson’s impact in Cleveland wasn’t always easy to see from the outside, but his departure underscores how much respect the organization’s player-development work has drawn around the league. Antonetti said at the club’s end-of-season press conference that turnover was possible at this time of year.
“This time of year, there’s going to be the inevitable permission requests,” Antonetti said, though he added that Cleveland expected its major league coaching staff to return.
Watson’s exit comes from the player-development side, not from Stephen Vogt’s big league staff.
In Houston, he’ll link up with a familiar Cleveland connection: Astros hitting coach Victor Rodriguez, who spent six seasons on Cleveland’s coaching staff from 2018-23, is expected to stay with the organization after manager Joe Espada’s departure.
In Other News...
Guardians May Regret Letting These Prospects Slip Away
Clevelands farm system has already produced enough intriguing names to keep tabs on, and a few former Guardians prospects are beginning to look like more than background pieces in other organizations. Juan Brito, Jacob Cozart and Josh Hartle all moved on in separate trades, and each has taken a step that suggests the move may end up benefiting their new clubs as much as it cost Cleveland. Brito landed with the Reds and flashed promise in a limited look, while Cozarts strong Double-A showing for the Angels has put him on a path toward a possible big league debut.
Hartle may be the most interesting of the three because of the role he could eventually fill for Washington. He has been effective at Double-A and looks the part of a pitcher the Nationals can build around in the near future, which only adds to the sense that Cleveland may have parted with more upside than it realized. None of these deals is decided today, but by 2027 the Guardians could be looking at three former prospects becoming useful major leaguers somewhere else. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians May Have Built Something Special With These Two Young Arms
The Guardians have spent years trying to assemble a homegrown pitching core that can carry them beyond one good season, and Gavin Williams and Parker Messick are making that plan look a lot more realistic. Williams emerged as one of the most overpowering arms in the American League, leading the league in strikeouts and carrying that stuff into the postseason, while Messick put together a strong regular season that put him squarely in the Rookie of the Year conversation.
What makes the pairing so intriguing for Cleveland is that both pitchers came through the organizations development pipeline, giving the front office a chance to imagine a rotation anchored from within rather than pieced together from the outside. Williams already looks like the sort of frontline starter who can headline October games, and Messicks rapid rise only deepens the sense that the Guardians may have more than one future ace on their hands. [Read more 🡒]
Two Guardians Enter 2027 With Everything To Prove
The Guardians got deep enough in 2026 to reach the AL Championship Series, but the loss to Tampa Bay left a few familiar questions hanging over the roster heading into the winter. Two of the names carrying the most scrutiny are Tanner Bibee and Kyle Manzardo, both of whom found themselves in very different places by the end of the season than they were when the year began.
Bibee led Cleveland in innings during the regular season, yet he was used sparingly once October arrived, a reminder that the club is still sorting out how to trust its top arms in the biggest moments. Manzardos path is murkier still after his offense dipped from 2025 to 2026, a slide that helped prompt a trade acquisition and put his hold on the first-base job in question as the offseason takes shape. [Read more 🡒]