Guardians Opinion: Why Offseason Activity Could Start To Pick Up

Shane Bieber's trade market might heat up as the remaining free-agent pitchers sign.

No one expected the Cleveland Guardians to spend over $1 billion on free agents like the Los Angeles Dodgers have this offseason. However, most of the fan base did expect the front office to be a little more active at fixing the weak spots on their roster.

So far, the Guardians have signed C Austin Hedges to a one-year deal, traded for RHP Scott Barlow, and added RHP Ben Lively.

There is still a lot of time before the 2024 season begins and we could finally start to see Cleveland's offseason activity begin to pick up as the calendar officially flips to the new year.

Let's get into why.

Let's start with this question, why haven't the Guardians been very active, especially in the trade market?

Cleveland's biggest trade asset is Shane Bieber who has reportedly drawn plenty of interest from rival teams. However, other free agents may have stalled a trade.

Shohei Ohtani was the biggest free agent of the offseason, and he waited until after the Winter Meetings to choose his next team. Then the focus turned to Yoshinobu Yamamoto which stalled the starting pitching market as teams met with the free agent from Japan during his tight posting period.

Both players ended up with the Dodgers and now the rest of MLB can focus on the remaining free agents. USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that GMs were saying "Now, free agency can start" following these signings.

Okay, so where does this leave the Guardians? 

The Guardians won't be in the Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery sweepstakes but, they still might be a player in the starting pitching market on the giving end of things.

As Snell, Monty, and Marcus Stroman start to sign this could leave teams who miss out on them more motivated to make a deal with a team such as the Guardians who have the starting pitching to spare. 

There's still no guarantee the Guardains will even trade Bieber or look to make any more changes to the roster before Spring Training begins. But as the remaining free agents start to sort themselves out Bieber's trade market could heat up.