Guardians Can't Keep Running Back the Same Plan and Expecting Different Results

For the 78th year in a row, baseball has finished in Cleveland, and once again the city is left without its elusive World Series title. The issues plaguing the Guardians are the same ones they’ve dealt with for most of the last decade. The hitters had some fun moments in October but were disappointing overall, while the pitching was strong at times but ran out of gas due to a lack of depth.

You could probably find that same summary from any part of the last decade, but could things be different for Cleveland in the future? Well, let's first imagine a world where players don’t strike, and the new CBA is relatively easy for both players and owners to agree on. That might be wishful thinking, since both sides are so far apart, but it’s impossible to predict what big changes the new CBA might bring once it's agreed upon.

This year, the Guardians did something many fans had been begging them to do. They put some chips on the line and made some serious moves at the deadline. None of these moves netted them a Shohei Ohtani or Pete Crow-Armstrong, but each of the four trades produced at least one big moment in October.

The question from here is: will any of these guys be back in Cleveland next season?

Let’s start with the easy ones. Patrick Bailey is under contract through 2030 and will be Cleveland's backstop for years to come. Foster Griffin hoped to get a $100 million extension before the Nationals traded him, so I don’t think he'll find that money from the cheapest organization in sports.

From there, it’s trickier. I think Nathaniel Lowe would be a great budget move to keep around, or at least until Ralphy Velazquez breaks into the majors. Jo Adell, on the other hand, is one of the very few competent right-handed hitters in Cleveland’s organization. Keeping him in Cleveland in 2027 feels like an easy, cheap move to keep fans happy.

However, that can’t be it from Cleveland. Jose Ramirez bailed that front office out by taking multiple under-market-value contracts throughout his career, and now it’s time to repay him with a competent roster around him.

Cleveland needs to add a legit bat and a front-line starter. That’s easier said than done, but you can’t start 2027 with the same roster and expect big, sweeping changes. Seattle feels like a very worthy trade partner. They have a plethora of starting pitching and could cash in on a big trade for Logan Gilbert.

The offense is the bigger issue, and while a free agent would go a long way toward fixing things, the entire Cleveland organization needs a coaching overhaul. The team needs to replace current hitting coach Grant Fink, and that hire should come from outside the organization. Promoting from within is obviously not working, as too many players leave Cleveland and immediately find their swings again.

Let’s just look at the teams in the World Series this year. Richie Palacios, Yandy Diaz, and Jake Bauers all found their best versions of themselves after leaving Cleveland. The Guardians have hitting reinforcements in Angel Genao, Cooper Ingle, Jaison Churio, and the aforementioned Velazquez. You can’t let this class of talented prospects fail because they don’t have the proper support around them.

The playoffs are unlikely to break as kindly for Cleveland in 2027 as they did in 2026, so big changes are needed. Will the front office provide the capital needed to improve this roster? Unfortunately, they haven’t done it since 2017, and it would be a shock to see them finally go all in a decade later.