Guardians fans will see plenty of familiar faces in 2025 World Series

Cleveland Guardians fans may have felt they were in an alternate reality watching Monday night's ALCS Game 7 between the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. Shane Bieber got the start for Toronto and gave up an RBI single to Josh Naylor in the first inning.

Toronto also had Andres Gimenez start at shortstop, Myles Straw come in late as a defensive replacement, and Ernie Clement at third base in what ending up being a thrilling victory for the Blue Jays.

It is easy for Cleveland fans to rage at the front office about not spending when seeing all these former Guardians succeed in October. That storyline will grow further if Gimenez, Bieber, and/or Clement show up big in the World Series.

Shane Bieber and the @BlueJays escape the jam 😮 pic.twitter.com/qgSCXkhHUk
— MLB (@MLB) October 21, 2025

Gimenez is the obvious one that comes to mind first. Cleveland signed him to a seven-year extension in 2023, only to trade him away last December. His play, and WAR value, has significantly regressed since his breakout 2022 season when he was an All-Star. But fans will find it as a reason to complain about the Dolans.

Bieber is the tricky case here. He was traded during the summer when the Guardians seemed totally out of the playoff race. Yes, he would have been a major asset this postseason. Yet one can also note the Guardians only made the playoffs because of a legendary run from their young starting pitchers.

Few fans will complain about Straw, and some may not even remember Clement's time in Cleveland. He was seen as a failed draft pick and just became an everyday player last season in Toronto. But now, he is looking like a bona fide All-Star and could become a Blue Jays legend over the next two weeks.

The Clement situation brings up a discussion about player development in Cleveland. But sometimes, guys just don't have it at a certain point in time.

The Blue Jays and all their former Guardians now face the task of taking down the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers and all their highly-paid stars. This is truly a monumental series for the game of baseball, as a Dodgers title could mean a salary cap is surely coming to the game in 2027.

So even though the Guardians aren't in the final series of the year, fans can at least root for the likes of Bieber, Gimenez, Clement, and even Straw to save baseball and take down the Dodgers.