Cleveland Guardians Earn Respectable Final Offseason Grade

Did the Cleveland Guardians really have the best offseason of any team in the American League Central?

Apr 16, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Although the Cleveland Guardians did not spend much money this offseason, they were still one of the most active teams over the last few months.

Cleveland's front office may still make a minor move or two before Spring Training starts, but it's starting to feel like the current Guardians roster will be the same group that reports to Spring Training in less than two weeks.

Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman of Yahoo! Sports recently graded every team's offseason. The duo gave the Guardians a "B" for their winter transactions:

"While it's understandably frustrating for fans to watch Cleveland operate within its inflexible, self-imposed budgetary constraints, credit to the front office for not just sitting on their hands like some other cash-strapped teams. They weren't afraid to shake things up. Time will tell if these moves put them in the best position to defend their AL Central crown, but I generally like where they ended up."

Overall, this is a fairly respectable grade for a team that has not spent much money or increased its payroll over the last few months.

In fact, this grade is tied with the Chicago White Sox for the highest given out to any team in the American League Central, including the Detroit Tigers, even after they re-signed SP Jack Flaherty.

Jul 8, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; A Cleveland Guardians baseball cap and glove sit on the dugout rail before the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images | David Reginek-Imagn Images

Cleveland's biggest need heading into the offseason was to add to their rotation, and they achieved that by re-signing Shane Bieber and trading for Luis Ortiz.

The Guardians bullpen, which was already the best in baseball last year, only got better with the addition of veteran reliever Paul Sewald.

While Josh Naylor's power will be missed, Carlos Santana is a safe option to take over at first base and proved he can still be a productive hitter even as he enters his age 39 season.

Cleveland still has some questions at key positions, such as second base and right field.

Perhaps they could have made a trade or signed a free agent to address these unknowns. But all will be forgiven if the Guardians are serious about quickly promoting top prospects Chase DeLauter, Juan Brito, and eventually Travis Bazzana.

As the pair of writers point out, time will determine if the Guardian's moves, or lack of moves, will help them repeat as AL Central champions, but there's still a lot to like about what Cleveland accomplished over the offseason to help their immediate roster and for the future.