Why the Cleveland Guardians are looking for a right-handed outfielder

The Cleveland Guardians have made various moves throughout the 2025-26 MLB offseason.

However, nearly all of them have been for bullpen depth.

They've signed Shawn Armstrong, Connor Brogdon and Colin Holderman, each of whom will play major roles for the Guardians. On the offensive end, the only move they've made to the major league group is the re-signing of catcher Austin Hedges, but he's more of a clubhouse guy and less of one who will actually get everyday reps at the plate.

Heading into the upcoming season, while the extra arms in late-game situations will be helpful, they're going to need to add a bit more effectiveness to the bats, more specifically, the outfield.

In the 2025 campaign, the overall hitting for the outfield was one of the major talking points in an area the front office needed to improve. They struggled greatly. Outside of Steven Kwan, who ended the season with a slash line of .272/.330/.374 and a fielding performance that saw 22 Defensive Runs Saved, no one else was able to get in rhythm.

They platooned Angel Martinez, Nolan Jones, Lane Thomas, Johnathan Rodriguez and many others, all of whom came nowhere close to the productivity of Kwan.

The team as a whole finished last season as the second-worst organization in baseball in batting average at a mark of .226. One of the major reasons for that is due to youth and players attempting to develop, but another reason is that they're so one-dimensional to pitching staffs when they have no consistent right-handed hitter.

Martinez offered switch-hitting, but the only true right-hander was Rodriguez. He finished the year with a batting average of .197 and a bWAR of -0.6. Through 44 games in the majors across two seasons, he's never been able to find his footing, with an OPS of .586. While he was once a highly-touted minor league prospect, with one option left, he may end up off the team by the end of 2026.

Thomas, who was injured most of the season, batted just .160 and Jhonkensy Noel, who bounced up and down from the majors to the minors, capped off his year to .162.

Moving forward, the Guardians' front office will have to try to address that need to reach the team's expectations set by manager Stephen Vogt for 2026.

"We expect to go out and win every night," Vogt said. "We are trying to win as many games as we can so we can have a chance to win a World Series. 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."

Fortunately, there are a handful of potential targets in the free agent class that they can take a look at. They also have a good chunk of cap space that they can use.

Some of the most intriguing potential right-handed outfielders are Harrison Bader, Austin Hays and Miguel Andujar. Bader's current value might be a stretch for the front office, which is seemingly hesitant to spend big bucks, but Hays and Andujar might be a bit more realistic.

Both would instantly be upgrades, with Hays being a good fit for the Guardians' style of offense. He makes good contact and gets on base at a good clip. In 2025, he slashed a line of .266/.315/.768 with 101 hits, 16 doubles, five triples and 15 home runs. He's also 30 years old, meaning he wouldn't take up too much time over the prospects below him and could be used as a rental.

His experience, which dates back to a 2017 MLB debut, could serve as a nice addition to the clubhouse.

Cleveland has options to look at; the only question now is whether they are willing to take a leap and attempt to shell out some money to give Vogt and the Guardians the best chance to succeed in 2026.