Guardians Receive Final Offseason Grade from MLB Analyst
The Cleveland Guardians have been fairly busy throughout the course of the MLB offseason. While they have made quite a few additions, they have also made a couple of trades to subtract from the roster.
Among the biggest moves so far this offseason have been the deal to re-sign star starting pitcher Shane Biber, the trade send Josh Naylor out of town, the signing of Carlos Santana to replace Naylor, the trade to send Andres Gimenez away, and the move to acquire Luis L. Ortiz.
Most recently, the Guardians were able to bring in another bullpen arm in the form of Paul Sewald.
Cleveland also moved on from reliever Eli Morgan and Nick Sandlin.
With a lot of the moves already being done, a final grade has been given to the Guardians for their moves to this point. That grade was given by Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer.
His grade was a "B" for the Cleveland offseason.
“Even a 38-year-old Santana could be an upgrade over Naylor, particularly if he plays more Gold Glove-caliber defense. One otherwise appreciates the buy-low signings of Bieber, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, and Sewald, who’s coming off a down year. Also, keep an eye on Ortiz. He finished last year with a 3.35 ERA in his last 14 starts for the Pirates, and he only turns 27 today,” Rymer said.
Being given a "B" grade for an offseason of work is nothing to hang a head about. The Guardians have put in a lot of work and they feel that they have improved their chances of contending in 2025.
Granted, there are a lot of questions that will need to be answered. Moving on from Naylor could be a big negative for the offense, but Cleveland is betting on Santana and others being able to step up and help replace his absence.
Nothing is evern guaranteed in baseball. There is a chance that this grade could end up going much lower or much higher depending on how the 2025 MLB season ends up going.
All of that being said, the Guardians appear to be in good shape heading into the 2025 season. They will need to prove what they're capable of on the field, but fans should be excited to watch what looks to be a very competitive baseball team.