Cleveland Guardians Still Considered A Top MLB Team

The Cleveland Guardians were MLB's surprise team last season, finished the second-best record in the American League with 92 wins, and made it all the way to the ALCS.
That encouraging season was followed by some questionable offseason moves, including the departures of Andres Gimenez and Josh Naylor through trades.
Even though the Guardians' roster will look much different than it did at the end of 2024, they're still considered one of the top teams in MLB by some ratings.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report released his MLB power rankings one month out from Spring Training, and the writer has the Guardians ranked as his ninth-best team in baseball. The ranking also puts them as the third-best team in the American League.
"The Cleveland Guardians were never going to make an offseason splash—that's simply not how they operate financially—but they have been busy retooling the roster while shedding some payroll," wrote Reuter.
Cleveland's offseason moves have certainly been risky, but with high risk comes the potential for high reward.
Reuter believes that "Swapping Andrés Giménez for controllable starter Luis L. Ortiz in a three-team deal with the Blue Jays and Pirates has a chance to be one of the best under-the-radar moves of the winter ..."
A healthy Gavin Williams back in Cleveland's rotation also can't understated how much he'll contribute to their pitching depth.
There are still questions with this team, including the impending position battle at second base and who will step up in the outfield. However, this is largely still the same roster, and in some areas, it is better; that was three wins away from a World Series appearance last season.
A position of No. 9 is deserving and warranted until the Guardians prove otherwise once the season starts.