Every former Guardians player who could win the 2026 World Series

Last year Guardians fans had to sit on the sideline and watch former Cleveland outfielder Alex Call celebrate a World Series championship as a member of the Dodgers. 

But Call winning was actually the preferable outcome when it came to former player success since he was going against a Blue Jays team that was loaded with players with Cleveland connections. 

That same scenario is playing out in this year’s Fall Classic between the Brewers and the Rays. Although there are former Guardians on both slides, one team has a much larger contingent than the other. 

At least one former Guardian is going to be a World Series champion regardless of which team wins it

1B Jake Bauers, Milwaukee Brewers 

Bauers may not be the biggest former Guardian out there, he’s been on the front of mind for plenty of baseball fans in Northeast Ohio as of late thanks to his strong postseason where he won NLCS MVP. 

Letting Bauers go shouldn’t fill the Guardians with as much regret as some of the other players on this list since Bauers failed with three other teams before joining Milwaukee, but it is another example of a talented player slipping out of the Guardians’ hands. 

Bo Naylor is also on the Guardians roster but he was held off their NLDS and NLCS roster. 

3B Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays 

Although Caminero never technically played for the Guardians, he’s become the biggest “what if” in team history thanks to Cleveland trading him away to the Rays when he was a prospect in exchange for Tobias Myers. 

The Guardians held Caminero in check for most of the ALCS before he recorded his signature moment with a two-run homer off Hunter Gaddis in Game 6. He has a great chance to win World Series MVP should the Rays win it all. 

1B Yandy Díaz, Tampa Bay Rays 

Cleveland traded Díaz away in 2018 as a part of their deal that got them Bauers, and he’s become one of the greatest Rays of all time. Díaz still had his strong contact-based approach in Cleveland, but the Rays helped him figure out how to tweak his swing so he could start putting the ball in the air. 

Díaz’s name has been a mainstay in trade rumors for the past couple seasons thanks to the Rays’ penny-pinching ways, but they held onto him and he’s rewarded that faith with a season for the ages. He’s going to be the middle of whatever the Rays do in the Fall Classic. 

2B Richie Palacios, Tampa Bay Rays 

The Rays acquired Palacios after he failed to make a footing with the Cardinals as a fourth outfielder. They moved him to the infield, helped him adjust his swing and have turned him into a great role player. 

The Guardians got a first-hand look at that last round when he racked up a .500 batting average with two RBI in the ALCS, and he should get plenty of opportunities against the Brewers stable of right-handed pitching. Cleveland decided he was the odd man out during their fantastic 2022 season, and he’s been able to find new life. 

RHP Cole Sulser, Tampa Bay Rays 

Most Guardians fans may not know who Sulser is, but he was once a part of Cleveland’s future. They took him in the 25th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, and he rose to as high at Triple-A before the Guardians traded him to the Rays in 2018 along with Díaz. 

He bounced around the league after the Rays DFA’d him in 2019, but he found his way back to them in 2024 and has been a part of their bullpen since. He’s only made one appearance this season.

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