Guardians Stay Quiet This Offseason-And Past Free Agent Whiffs Might Be Why
If you’re a Guardians fan wondering when the team’s going to make a splash this offseason, you’re not alone. The silence from Cleveland’s front office has been deafening, especially with the offense still in need of a serious boost. But while the Guardians haven’t added any major league bats this winter, there are signs that the front office is thinking long and hard about how to move forward-and past free agent misfires might be playing a big role in their cautious approach.
Last week, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti acknowledged the obvious: the team needs to improve. But instead of pointing toward free agency, he emphasized internal growth, highlighting the organization’s belief in its crop of young talent. That’s a familiar refrain in Cleveland, but this time it feels more pointed-like a team burned too many times and now wary of getting too close to the stove again.
General manager Mike Chernoff added more context in a recent interview, saying, *“We don’t play (try to sign) top tier free agents… Do you go to the level before that? Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
- It’s a revealing quote that speaks volumes. The Guardians aren’t shopping at the top of the market, and even when they dip into the second tier, the returns haven’t been great.
Take last offseason, for example. Cleveland handed Carlos Santana a one-year, $12 million deal-a move that was supposed to help stabilize the lineup after Josh Naylor was traded.
Instead, Santana never found his rhythm at the plate and struggled to produce. It was a swing and a miss, and while the front office didn’t single him out publicly, it’s hard not to connect the dots.
That deal was supposed to be a meaningful upgrade. Instead, it became another cautionary tale.
And unfortunately, Santana’s struggles weren’t an isolated incident. The Guardians haven’t had much luck with free agent hitters in recent years.
You have to go all the way back to 2016 to find a signing that truly paid off. Since then, they’ve taken low-risk fliers on veterans like Carlos Gonzalez and Hanley Ramírez, and they’ve shelled out bigger money to players like Josh Bell and Mike Zunino-moves that didn’t pan out.
Even Ramon Laureano, their biggest signing in 2024 at $5.1 million, couldn’t stick. He hit just .143 before being cut loose. Ironically, he’s since turned things around and become an everyday player elsewhere, but that doesn’t do much to help Cleveland now.
The one big-money swing they took in recent memory was Edwin Encarnación. The Guardians signed him to a three-year, $60 million deal before the 2017 season, and he delivered power-70 home runs in his first two years. But even that deal ended with a trade to Seattle before the final year of the contract.
So yeah, it’s understandable why the front office might be gun-shy. The track record just isn’t there. But while the caution is understandable, it doesn’t make the lack of offseason activity any less frustrating for fans who saw a clear need for offensive help.
There is a silver lining, though. Cleveland has quietly built up one of the more promising groups of MLB-ready position player prospects in the league.
Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana, C.J. Kayfus-these are names worth knowing.
The front office is banking on these young bats to help carry the offense forward, and there’s legitimate upside there.
Still, prospects are prospects. They bring hope, but also uncertainty. And for a team that’s been on the fringe of contention, standing pat in an offseason where the lineup clearly needed reinforcement feels like a gamble.
Maybe the Guardians are saving their chips for the trade deadline. Maybe they’re betting on internal growth to carry them through the first half. Either way, the message this winter has been clear: after years of free agent misfires, Cleveland is choosing patience over panic.
Time will tell if that patience pays off.