Guardians, AL Central Put on Blast for Quiet Offseason

The Cleveland Guardians and the rest of the AL Central are being taken to task for their lack of movement this MLB offseason.

Mar 12, 2024; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The AL Central sent three teams to the MLB playoffs this past season, with the Cleveland Guardians winning the division and the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals snagging Wild Card spot.

You would then think that the trio of ballclubs would make a concerted effort to try and improve this offseason, but instead, they have all been very quiet.

It actually shouldn't come too much of a surprise, as none of these squads are big spenders, but that didn't stop Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller from naming the entire division in his list of the biggest losers of the offseason.

"Lastly, Cleveland re-signed Shane Bieber on a two-year, $26M deal—which could end up being a two-month, $14M deal, as he's likely out until the All-Star break while recovering from Tommy John and the second year is a player option," Miller wrote. The Guardians also re-signed Austin Hedges for $4M."

Miller then went on to mention the Guardians' trade of Andres Gimenez, which ultimately netted them starting pitcher Luis Ortiz after they flipped part of the return.

"But then they traded Andrés Giménez to Toronto for Spencer Horwitz and a prospect before turning around and flipping Horwitz to Pittsburgh for Luis Ortiz and two more prospects," Miller wrote. "Perhaps it was a savvy move with Giménez's salary about to balloon, but also perhaps one they felt they had to make in order to justify spending to keep Bieber and Hedges."

In other words, Cleveland isn't about to expand its payroll. It is merely reallocating money to different spots, which is obviously frustrating.

The Guardians entered the offseason with some very clear needs, and while Ortiz was a solid pickup, it's looking more and more like Cleveland may move Josh Naylor or Lane Thomas, if not both.

Definitely not what fans were hoping for after making it all the way to the ALCS.