2025 World Series is a harsh reminder of what the Guardians are missing

The Los Angeles Dodgers will play the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2025 World Series.

While the Guardians were unable to get through the Detroit Tigers in the American League Wild Card, Cleveland will be represented by former players such as Shane Bieber, Andres Gimenez and Ernie Clement.

The Guardians are probably disappointed that they were unable to make it back to the World Series. But the payrolls of the Dodgers and Blue Jays is certainly something to behold.

The Dodgers have the most expensive roster in the history of baseball. The Blue Jays currently have baseball’s fifth-highest payroll. While the Guardians were able to get the best of both of these teams at times during the regular season, the 2025 World Series is proof that you need to pay big money to win in October.

It’s no secret that the Dodgers are led by two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, who signed the richest contract in MLB history just a few offseasons ago. Ohtani’s 10 strikeouts and three home runs powered the Dodgers past the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series.

The Brewers currently have the No. 14 payroll in baseball and they were swept in the NLCS. The Guardians currently have the 23rd payroll.

While the Dodgers played with their food during baseball’s 162-game marathon, Ohtani’s squad turned it on in October. Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are lethal starting weapons built for playoff baseball but having Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez in the batting lineup certainly helps things.

The Guardians have proved they are capable of churning out arms to match the top-echolon of talent in the MLB. The Dodgers bought their rotation, they did not develop them.

However, both Los Angeles and Toronto have the necessary pop in their batting lineup to support stellar pitching. That’s what the Guardians are currently missing.

The Blue Jays were vaulted into October because of their bats. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. came up massive to help Toronto get by the New York Yankees. George Springer’s Game 7 heroics helped the Blue Jays punch their World Series ticket against the Seattle Mariners.

At first base, Guerrero is making a cool $40 million annually. In right field, Springer is making $24 million.

Comparatively, the Guardians paid Jose Ramirez $21 million next season. The Guardians have historically worked out new deals with players like Steven Kwan to avoid arbitration, but that price tag still will not match what other teams are shelling out.

After the season concluded, a podcast interview featuring Ramirez resurfaced on social media. In Spanish, Ramirez explained that in order to compete with the Dodgers, you need to spend like them.

It’s unrealistic to expect the Guardians to spend like the Dodgers or Blue Jays. But the team has excelled at developing talent. It’s apparent – especially because of how many former Guardians players will appear in the World Series.

If they were able to just throw around a few extra bucks, it could go a long way towards inching closer to being able to compete with the big boys.