5 players the Cleveland Guardians should avoid in free agency

With the success of the Cleveland Guardians in 2024, everyone is well aware of what they must do in the offseason. Add players who can positively impact this roster, which will allow them to capitalize on their contention window. While it is easy and honestly more fun to identify players who the Guardians should look to acquire, participating in a similar exercise, which determines who they avoid in free agency, would produce the following five results.

1. Patrick Corbin: Washington Nationals - Starting PItcher

It was just a few years that Patrick Corbin was one of the most sought-after free agents, signing a six-year $140 million contract with the Washington Nationals. The investment made by the Nationals paid off immediately, as Corbin was a key cog in their rotation as they won the franchise's first-ever World Series Championship. Unfortunately for the Nationals, it has been all downhill from that point.

Since putting up a 3.25 ERA, 1.183 WHIP, and 10.6 strikeouts per nine in 2019, Corbin's numbers have nosedived. In the following five seasons, Corbin's ERA and WHIP have skyrocketed to 5.62 and 1.535, respectively, in addition to his K/9 cratering to 7.2. If the decline in performance was not bad enough, Corbin's contract being backloaded made it one of the worst in MLB.

At age 35, with his performance in steep decline, it would be wise for the Guardians to avoid Corbin in free agency as it does not seem like any sort of late-career turnaround is on the table.