2024 was a step in the right direction for the Cleveland Guardians but a leap is needed in 2025

The 2024 season may have come to an end for the Cleveland Guardians following their loss to the World Series-bound New York Yankees in the ALCS, and to see things come to an end in this manner is disappointing. However, the fact they got there in the first place is quite an accomplishment for this team, considering that most picked them to be a complete afterthought in the American League Central before the season began. With that being said, 2024 was very much a successful season in Cleveland, but this needs to only be the beginning.

Cleveland was able to get to the ALCS despite being without three-fifths of their starting rotation, a lineup that felt very much pieced together at times, and a first-year manager in Stephen Vogt getting real-time experience on the job, and that is before mentioning the fact he was taking over for future Hall of Famer and current Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona. Even just one of these scenarios would set up most teams for failure, but the Guardians were able to incredibly successful, and as impressive as that was, they cannot, as a team, afford to run everything back as-is. This season was a great foundational building block, and it needs to be treated as such rather than being a standalone impressive season.

It is abundantly clear that the Guardians have plenty of pieces in place to still be a good team, at minimum. While there is value in having that status and the stability it provides, it is obvious that this team just needs a little bit of help to round out their roster to take that next step. This will require a combination of additions to the big league roster coming from their minor league prospects, free agent signings, and trades, which may be in their future. Attacking the roster-building process with a certain level of aggressiveness to improve in a few areas could make a huge difference in their season ending in the ALCS and advancing to a World Series, and maybe even ending the sport's longest active championship drought.