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.