Cleveland Guardians nearly receive dubious honor

There are two types of lists in this world: those you want to be on and those you don't. Unfortunately for the Cleveland Guardians, they found themselves landing on the latter rather than the former.

According to a survey of MLB insiders appearing in The Athletic (subscription required), the Guardians are viewed as one of the least-improved teams in the American League. Cleveland was tied with the Chicago White Sox for third on this list with 12 votes each. The Seattle Mariners received the most votes with 24, while the Minnesota Twins finished in second place with 21.

For a team that has expectations of not only competing within the American League Central division next season but advancing further into the postseason, ending up with the third-most votes of teams considered to be the least improved is not necessarily encouraging. In fact, it should be a great concern to everyone inside Cleveland's front office.

Even though it is just a survey and not even the most informed baseball insider can accurately predict the future, the fact that so many were willing to say Cleveland here does mean something and not a good something either. The Guardians have been widely criticized for their offseason activity, which saw them shed salary mostly in favor of acquiring young, cost-controlled pitching. While there was a clear need for pitching help, most would have preferred to see them spend more money or at least add to last year's AL Central winning roster rather than trade from it.

One thing to consider here is that a survey taking place before spring training begins is far from being the be-all-end-all and should be treated for what it is. A (publicly) nameless assortment of vote totals on a variety of subjects. Cleveland's front office has proved worthy of being given the benefit of the doubt for their roster maneuvers, as they are one of the best in the sport despite not having the financial resources of others in that group, and that should be accounted for when evaluating how they choose to manage their roster.