4 out-of-options Guardians players who could complicate roster picture this offseason

Minor league options can sometimes make a huge difference when MLB teams build their roster. While on-field production is always going to be king, roster flexibility, or lack thereof, can also be just as important when thinking about roster building. 

The biggest way a player can have roster flexibility is through their minor league options, which allows for a player to be sent to the minors without first being subjected to waivers. If a player is out of option years they need to be sent through waivers if they’re removed from the roster. 

Sometimes a player’s lack of options can lead to a team giving them more of a leash since any decision to remove them from a roster will be final (it’s why the Guardians held onto Jake Bauers for 43 uninspiring games at the start of 2021, as an example). 

With all that in mind, here are three out-of-options Guardians who could end up complicating things this offseason. 

These three Guardians could muddy the offseason roster picture

Jhonkensy Noel

While Noel has only appeared in 136 regular season games in his MLB career, he’ll enter 2026 out of options due to the fact he’s been on the Guardians’ 40-man roster since the start of the 2022 season when he had yet to appear past High-A. 

Noel ended up making his MLB debut in 2024 (where he hit a postseason home run you may have heard about), but failed to build on that momentum last season. Noel hit just .162 in 69 games with the Guardians and ended up spending half the season in Triple-A due to that ineffectiveness. 

Noel is one of three Guardians outfielders who are out of options (along with George Valera and Nolan Jones), but is arguably the most one-dimensional of that trio.

Noel has the kind of power the Guardians desperately need from their outfield, but his big league struggles have become too much to overlook. Noel could end up on the chopping block this offseason if the Guardians need to make room for an outside addition.  

Gabriel Arias/Brayan Rocchio

We decide to put both Rocchio and Arias together given their presence together in the middle of the Guardians’ infield. They were once both highly ranked prospects in the Guardians system, but neither one of them have been able to do much with their major league opportunity. 

Rocchio struggled at the beginning of the season before catching fire in September and hitting  a big home run in October, while Arias hit a career-high 11 home runs but had the worst strikeout rate (34.4%) among hitters with 400+ at-bats. 

The guardians had one of the worst offenses in baseball, so getting rid of either Arias or Rocchio (or both) in favor of an external addition seems like an easy way to upgrade the lineup. 

Sam Hentges 

Although Hentges survived the Guardians’ roster purge earlier this offseason, he could still end up pitching elsewhere based on any potential roster moves the Guardians make this offseason.

The 29-year-old hasn’t pitched since July 2024 due to Tommy John surgery and right knee surgery, but is expected to be back and healthy for spring training.

A former starter, Hentges moved to the bullpen in 2022 to excellent results and has posted a 3.26 ERA in 165 2/3 innings in relief in his career. 

He’s a tall left-hander who keeps the ball on the ground and limits hard contact, but he’s also a bit of a wild card at this point. The Guardians clearly still love what he could potentially bring to the table in the bullpen, but they may be forced at some point this offseason to decide between him or a pitcher who is a less of a wild card.