The Guardians are headed into 2027 with a familiar kind of puzzle: how to squeeze the most value out of a roster built on flexibility. That kind of setup can create some awkward fits, but it’s also one of the biggest strengths Cleveland has.
A few players stand out as obvious candidates for a different job next season, and the choices could say plenty about how the Guardians want to shape their roster going forward.
For Cooper Ingle, the simplest answer might also be the best one: keep him behind the plate. Ingle made his big league debut this season, but all four of his defensive appearances came in left field as Cleveland tried to work his bat into the lineup. That experiment didn’t really go anywhere, and it’s time for the Guardians to give him a real shot at sticking as a catcher.
The organization has already shown a willingness to use Ingle in the outfield, including after he was sent down at the start of July and spent some time there in the minors. But the situation changes next season, especially with Austin Hedges potentially reaching free agency.
Cleveland will have a backup catcher opening for the first time since Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria filled those duties in 2023, and Ingle should be the player who gets a chance to win it. There will be rough patches if he’s learning to manage a big league staff for the first time, but at some point the Guardians have to let the kid play his natural position.
Slade Cecconi looks like another player who could benefit from a permanent shift. After the Guardians’ front office shuffled the roster by trading for Foster Griffin, Cecconi was pushed out of the rotation and into the bullpen. The results weren’t pretty during the regular season - a 5.93 ERA in 13 2/3 innings - and he added two more relief outings in the postseason.
Still, there were signs worth paying attention to. Cecconi’s fastball was sitting around 96-97 miles per hour, and some of the uneven results came from being asked to handle multi-inning work in October.
That kind of usage might actually be the point. He could be more useful as a reliever who can give length, similar to how the Brewers have used Aaron Ashby this postseason.
Cecconi hasn’t developed into the starter Cleveland hoped for when it acquired him for Josh Naylor, but a role change like this could give his Guardians tenure a much-needed reset.
Then there’s Steven Kwan, whose role feels the most straightforward of the bunch. This is as much about getting the most from his glove as it is about keeping the outfield aligned properly. Kwan won four straight Gold Gloves in left field to begin his career, but in 2026 he spent 98 games in left and 88 in center, and that seemed to be part of the reason for his slow start.
The cleaner move for Cleveland would be to leave Kwan in center, where he hit .277 compared to .269 in left field. It would also make the rest of the roster fit better, opening the corners for Jo Adell, Chase DeLauter, Angel Martínez and whoever else ends up in the outfield mix.
There are plenty of unknowns surrounding Kwan’s future. His position shouldn’t be one of them.
In Other News...
Guardians Just Lost Another Behind The Scenes Voice Rivals Keep Poaching
The Guardians are losing another one of the behind-the-scenes people who helped shape their offensive program, as Conner Watson is headed to Houston to become the Astros director of hitting. Watson spent the past two seasons as Clevelands assistant director of hitting development, and his move is the latest reminder that the organizations player development work keeps getting noticed well beyond Progressive Field.
Chris Antonetti has already acknowledged the staff turnover, and in some ways that comes with the territory for a club whose development pipeline is routinely viewed as a strength. Still, it is the kind of loss that matters, because these roles influence how hitters are identified, coached and pushed forward before they ever become everyday names in Cleveland. The Guardians have built a reputation other teams want to borrow from, but keeping the people who built it together is proving to be a challenge. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]