Cleveland Guardians Front Office Explains Why They 'Can't Sign Top-Tier Free Agents'

All offseason, the Cleveland Guardians' front office has defended the decision not to make any high-profile moves.

While the biggest thing the team did all offseason was extend José Ramírez, they also made small, team-friendly moves to add to the bullpen. These decisions were carefully crafted to not block any of the team's prospects' timelines, especially with 2026 expected to be a year where the Guardians trot out many of them.

General manager Mike Chernoff recently appeared on the Foul Territory show, explaining the importance of internal development and understanding the Guardians' place in baseball.

"We are a young team," Chernoff said. "We have been one of the youngest teams in baseball for years. We have to do things differently."

He then went on to confirm that the reason why they cannot compete for some of the league's top free agents is due to the market they compete in.

"We can't [as a small market team] sign top-tier free agents," he said. "It's just impossible with the economic landscape in baseball. We have to do it through scouting and development."

"We can't [as a small market team] sign top-tier free agents. It's just impossible with the economic landscape in baseball."

Guardians GM Mike Chernoff explains the importance of scouting and development to an organization like Cleveland, given its financial constraints. pic.twitter.com/oGAfNMz0Z3
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 18, 2026

Cleveland's Strong Group of Youth

In just a few days, the Guardians will begin spring training with two games against the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday, Feb. 21. The game against the Reds will begin at 3:05 p.m. EST, and the Brewers' game will kick off at 3:10 p.m. EST.

Manager Stephen Vogt has already come out and confirmed that two young pitchers, Logan Allen and Joey Cantillo, will start on the mound for the team. Along with them, it's projected, not confirmed yet, that plenty of the non-rostered invites will get a chance to shine early as well.

Those non-rostered players include right-handers Tanner Burns, Aaron Davenport, Trenton Denhom, Tommy Mace, Jack Leftwich, Ryan Webb, Jake Miller, Trevor Stephan and lefty Will Dion. Not on the mound will be Travis Bazzana, Ralphy Velazquez, Milan Tolentino and Dayan Frias, with just one outfielder included, Alfonsin Rosario. Catching duties will be handled by Cameron Barstad, Jacob Cozart, Kody Huff and Cooper Ingle.

Each of these players impressed the front office enough to earn this opportunity, and as Chernoff implied, their timelines are slowly inching towards debut-territory. However, it all begins in the offseason.

"You have to try to find a way to raise your floor in the offseason," Chernoff said. "How do you keep building? Whether it's the physical profile, the bat speed, the velocity, the command, whatever it is, how do you keep building?

"We try to provide as many programs as we can for our guys."

Even with such a young, inexperienced group of players, the Guardians are entirely under the belief that they can compete for a World Series title.

"We are trying to win as many games as we can so we can have a chance to win a World Series," Vogt said earlier this offseason. "I think when that's our expectation, whatever expectations or pressure is coming in from the outside, it's not as much as the pressure we put on ourselves."

The Guardians will have a chance to show the group of players they've assembled for 2026 in just a few days as spring training begins.