The Cleveland Guardians made it all the way to the last four teams standing in 2026 before Tampa Bay ended their run in the AL Championship Series. But not every player came out of that season with clean numbers or clean answers, and a couple of key names head into 2027 with something to prove.
Jose Ramirez is the easy place to start, though his case looks tied to health more than anything else. A hand injury and posterior surgery likely affected him all summer, which gives his rough year a different kind of context. Tanner Bibee and Kyle Manzardo, though, are the two players who enter the offseason under the brightest spotlight.
Bibee’s situation is the trickiest one. He threw 188 innings during the regular season, more than anyone else on the staff, but the playoff usage told a different story.
Stephen Vogt didn’t trust him in October, and Bibee ended up appearing in just one game and recording only one out. That kind of finish leaves a mark, and it puts a ton of pressure on what comes next.
He has to prove the Guardians can count on him in every setting, not just during the regular season. He also needs to clean up the home run problem, since he gave up 29 this year. Whether that means better fastball performance or a sharper pitch mix, the bottom line is the same: the damage has to come down.
The trend in his ERA is just as concerning. Since his MLB debut in 2023, it has climbed every season, starting at 2.98 that year and finishing at 4.36 in 2026. For a pitcher who is also the highest-paid arm on the Guardians, that’s not the profile the club wants to keep seeing.
Manzardo’s path is different, but the pressure is real all the same. The Guardians likely wouldn’t have had to bring in Nathaniel Lowe during the offseason if Manzardo had matched what he did in 2025. That year, he put up 27 home runs and a 113 wRC+, numbers that pointed to above-average offensive production and plenty of middle-of-the-order upside.
This season was a step back. Manzardo hit .215/.306/.378 with 13 home runs and a 94 wRC+, and by the deadline, Cleveland had optioned him to Triple-A and moved to trade for Lowe.
Ralphy Velazquez is already being viewed by many as the first baseman of the future, and he will almost certainly be part of the picture. Even so, Manzardo should still get his shot to respond.
He heads into the offseason needing to show the 2026 version was the outlier. Another uneven year could push him out of the picture entirely, either as a trade piece or as depth in the minors. But 2025 showed what he can be when things click, and that’s why he still has a real opportunity to reclaim his place.
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 🡒]