Cleveland Guardians, Injured Free Agent Pitcher John Means in 'Advanced Talks'

John Means, coming off his second Tommy John surgery and 11 years in the Baltimore Orioles' organization, is reportedly working on a deal with the Cleveland Guardians.

Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher John Means (47) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Seattle Mariners at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians are in "advanced talks" with free agent pitcher John Means, MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo reported Sunday.

Means hit the open market this past fall, bringing an end to his 11-year tenure in the Baltimore Orioles' organization. The 31-year-old left-hander underwent his second career Tommy John surgery in June, though, so he is unlikely to be back to full strength before the All-Star break.

Rumors surfaced earlier this winter that the Boston Red Sox were interested in Means, but that was before they signed Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval. A return to Baltimore was considered to be on the table as well, even after they added Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano on one-year deals.

The Guardians seem to have jumped both teams in their pursuit of Means, although it remains to be seen what his contract could look like.

Across four starts in 2024, Means went 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA, 0.871 WHIP and a 0.7 WAR.

Free agent pitcher John Means in advanced talks with the Guardians, sources say.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) February 16, 2025

Means was an All-Star and AL Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2019, going 12-11 with a 3.60 ERA, 1.135 WHIP and a 4.4 WAR across 155.0 innings of work. He remained a staple in the Orioles' rotation in 2020, then became their Opening Day starter in both 2021 and 2022.

The first Tommy John surgery that Means had in May 2022 knocked him out for the rest of that season and most of the next, though. Baltimore signed the southpaw to a two-year, $5.925 million contract to avoid arbitration amid his recovery, only to see him go down again midway through 2024.

Means has made a total of 10 starts over the past three seasons, but he has been effective when healthy. Between 2022 and 2024, Means has gone 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA, 0.860 WHIP and 1.6 WAR, averaging 5.1 innings per start.

For his career, Means is 23-26 with a 3.68 ERA, 1.050 WHIP, 334 strikeouts and a 10.3 WAR in 401.0 innings of work.

Cleveland's longtime ace, Shane Bieber, is also set to open 2025 on the injured list recovering from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last April. That leaves Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, Luis L. Ortiz, Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen as the remaining options in the Guardians' rotation without much dependable depth behind them.

Means wouldn't be able to join that group until late in the season, but he could prove valuable down the stretch if Cleveland is in the thick of another playoff race.

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