3 players the Guardians could move on from at the start of 2026 

It’s hard to believe, but the start of 2026 is here. And, with the start of a new year right here, there’s no better time to assess the state of the Cleveland Guardians’ roster. 

While it’s still headlined by star third baseman José Ramírez, pitching aces Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams and a variety of new relievers, there’s still some clear room for improvement. 

And one of the clearest ways they can improve upon that is by moving away from some of the players on the roster who disappointed in 2025. 

The Guardians should move on from these Nolan Jones, Logan Allen and Gabriel Arias for the 2026 season

OF Nolan Jones

Last year the Guardians reunited with Jones at the end of spring training in the hopes that he’d be an everyday option in right field. 

The good news is that he turned into an everyday option. The bad news is that he hit just .211 and hurt himself right before the start of the postseason. 

While the Guardians tendered him a $2 million contract for 2026, that shouldn’t be a guarantee that Jones will be on the roster in 2026. 

One of the reasons Cleveland’s front office has stayed away from bringing in external acquisitions in the outfield is because they don’t want to put anyone in the way of young outfielders like Chase DeLauter, George Valera and Petey Halpin, and giving Jones everyday playing time again would be organizational malpractice.

The Guardians have clear holes in center field and right field, but there are better options than Jones to fill those holes. 

LHP Logan Allen

Allen has been a league average since making his MLB debut in 2023 and could be the odd man out for the Guardians after they finished the year with a six-man rotation. 

The 27-year-old left-hander had a 4.25 ERA in 156 2/3 innings last season, and went at least five innings in 22 of his 29 starts. He’s the definition of a stable innings eater, which means that he could be an important player in almost every rotation in MLB. 

But he may hold more value as a trade chip for the Guardians than as a roster piece. Even though Allen has some flexibility thanks to the fact he has one minor league option remaining (unlike fellow rotation mate Joey Cantillo), pitching becomes a premium the closer you get to the end of spring training. 

Although Allen wouldn’t net the Guardians a premium prospect in return, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him move quickly if/when he’s dangled in trade talks. 

INF Gabriel Arias 

Arias presents an interesting test case for the Guardians. He has all the tools in the world and has an 80-grade arm, but finished last year with a strikeout rate of 34.4%, which was the most among hitters with 400+ at-bats. 

Stephen Vogt has already said that fans should get ready to see Arias all around the diamond during spring training, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s moved off the roster before then. 

He has some clear flaws in his game (did we mention he strikes out a lot?), but there’s enough there to think the Guardians could convince some team to take a flier on Arias in a trade. 

The Guardians are going to need to make room for Travis Bazzana and Juan Brito at some point, and trading Arias would be an easy way to do so.