When Could Guardians Front Office Make Big Offseason Moves?

There is a pattern as to when the Cleveland Guardians' front office makes their key offseason moves.

Many fans want to know when the Cleveland Guardians could trade Shane Bieber, sign one of the top free-agent hitters, or finally put together a package for an outfield bat. 

When would the front office make one of these moves? 

Well, history may hold the key to that question. 

Typically, Cleveland's front office likes to sit and get a feel for both the trade and the free agency market before getting in on the action. That generally comes around the time of Winter Meetings or shortly after they conclude.

Let's take a look at some more recent examples of this. 

Nov 10, 2023; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, middle, and president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, left, and general manager Mike Chernoff, right, talk to the media during an introductory press conference at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The 2022 Winter Meetings were held from December 4-11 and this is when we started to get rumblings about their interest in catchers and other position players. 

Then on December 12, the team signed Josh Bell to a two-year deal. One day after that on December 13, Mike Zunino signed a one-year deal to be Cleveland's Opening Day catcher.

Francisco Lindor was moved during the awkward offseason that followed the 2020 campaign. This trade took place the first week of January and well before Spring Training took place. 

Cleveland decided in the offseason of 2019 that it was time to move on from long-time ace Corey Kluber. The organization flipped him to the Texas Rangers on December 15 which was three days after Winter Meetings ended.

We can go back as far as 2017 and see this similar trend being followed. Cleveland made an ultimate win-now move and signed Edwin Encarnacion to a three-year $60 million deal. The two sides agreed to terms on January 5.

None of this is to say that the Guardians will definitely make their moves during this time frame. They already pulled off one trade for a bullpen arm this offseason. 

However, there is a pattern of when they make their bigger offseason transactions.