Guardians Go All-in! Cleveland Direction Revealed – Get Ready for a wild Ride

It has certainly been a busy offseason for the Cleveland Guardians, but not in the way that most fans hoped heading into the hot stove.

The Guardians have made multiple trades and have reshaped their roster ever so slightly, but they haven’t done anything to really move the needle in anyone’s eyes.

And now, with spring training just around the corner, it’s becoming abundantly clear that Cleveland fully intends on going into the 2025 MLB season as currently constructed.

Despite the wishes of many Guardians fanatics, the team probably isn’t going to sign an impact pitcher on the free-agent market. Recently, Cleveland added Kolby Allard and Vince Velasquez, a couple of reclamation projects that may compete for spots in the starting rotation.

That has been the Guardians style for quite some time now, and sometimes, it works very well (see: Ben Lively). But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

Cleveland’s front office is incredibly resourceful. That much we can say. The Guardians have a history of turning chicken scrap into chicken salad, and they definitely did that last season when they somehow won the AL Central and made it all the way to the ALCS with one of the worst starting pitching staffs in baseball.

Evidently, Cleveland feels that it can achieve the same feat in 2025, and while the past isn’t always the perfect indicator of future performance, it certainly sets a good precedent.

So perhaps the Guardians genuinely do feel comfortable about where they are right now, and considering they plan in what may very well be baseball’s worst division, it’s somewhat understandable.

That being said, Cleveland is no closer to contending for a World Series now than it was last October, when the New York Yankees eliminated Stephen Vogt’s club from the ALCS in five games.

Yes, the Yankees lost Juan Soto, but they made a few significant moves afterward, adding pieces like pitcher Max Fried and veteran sluggers Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. If anything, New York may actually be more balanced now than it was a year ago.

The rest of the American League is, well, questionable at best, which is why the Guardians may be feeling pretty good about their chances in the spring.

Whether we like it or not, Cleveland is likely deciding to roll into the coming season with its current roster, by and large. The Guardians probably won’t be adding any big bats to the lineup. Heck, they couldn’t even sign Randal Grichuk, who returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a cheap one-year deal.

Instead, Cleveland will be depending on its young players like Jhonkensy Noel, Kyle Manzardo, Juan Brito and potentially Chase DeLauter to fill those gaps. It could pay massive dividends, yes, but it can also blow up in the Guardians’ face.

Cleveland also seems to be banking on Shane Bieber making a full recovery from Tommy John surgery, which is risky, to say the least.

Maybe the Guardians will prove us all wrong again, or maybe they will demonstrate why they should have taken a far different approach to the offseason.