3 Guardians players who will dictate winning in 2026 

The new year is officially here, so there’s no better time to shift focus toward the Guardians’ 2026 season. 

While Cleveland came back from a huge deficit to win the American League Central last season, their work is going to be cut out for them in 2026 after a quiet offseason (so far). 

So, with that inaction in mind, here’s a look at three players on the Guardians’ roster who will impact where Cleveland wins (or doesn’t) in 2026. 

Travis Bazzana, Tanner Bibee and José Ramírez are the three most important players on the Guardians' roster 

Travis Bazzana

That’s right, we’re kicking this list off with a player who has yet to step on a big league diamond. But just because Bazzana hasn’t gotten a chance to show his stuff at Progressive Field doesn’t mean that he won’t impact winning in 2026. 

The 23-year-old made it all the way to Triple-A last season and posted a .225/.402/.438 slashline with four home runs and 14 RBI in 26 games there before suffering a season-ending oblique injury in September. 

Bazzana will get a good start to 2026 by playing for Team Australia in the World Baseball Classic, and his call-up next season seems like a matter of when, not if. 

Bazzana has some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the minors and would be a clear upgrade at second base. He should get plenty of playing time whenever he gets called up. 

Tanner Bibee

The 2025 campaign was an interesting one for Bibee. While his ERA took a step back last season (4.24 ERA in ‘25 vs. 3.47 in ‘24), he found his groove in the final month (1.30 ERA across 27 2/3 innings in September) and threw the ball well in his long postseason start. 

That said, the Guardians are going to need to get more out of Bibee if they want to compete in 2026, especially if Gavin Williams takes a step back after his breakout 2025 season. 

Bibee struggled to locate his fastball last season, but he did throw his sweeper more than ever (15.8%) and had some success with it (.168 batting average against), so some of the tinker he did resulted in success. 

The Guardians like Bibee’s first two seasons in the bigs so much they rewarded him with a five-year contract extension last spring, and we’re expecting him to look more like his ace self in 2026. 

José Ramírez

An obvious answer, but arguably the most important one. Ramírez has been on a five-year tear that’s turned him from unheralded superstar to household name, and it’s hard to believe that won’t be the case in 2026 even though he’ll be 34 in September. 

He’s hit 30+ home runs and 40+ steals in each of the past two seasons, and he’ll be just important in 2026 given Cleveland’s lack of offensive additions this offseason. 

That said, the Guardians seem to be doing everything in their power to give more playing time to Chase DeLauter and George Valera, which could give Ramírez some additional help in the lineup. 

It’s hard to imagine Cleveland Guardians baseball without Ramírez, and there’s no way the Guardians will be able to get back to the postseason for a third straight season without another MVP-caliber season from him.