Grading Guardians' performance at 2024 MLB Winter Meetings

The 2024 MLB Winter Meetings are over, and the Cleveland Guardians were more active than anyone could have reasonably imagined. With the two trades they made down in Dallas agreed to, now is the time to evaluate their activity during the Winter Meetings.

The first move took everyone by surprise, as the Guardians sent second baseman Andres Gimenez and pitcher Nick Sandlin to the Toronto Blue Jays for infielder Spencer Horwitz and minor league outfielder Nick Mitchell. Cleveland's return in this deal was light, with the only real benefit being no longer liable for the remainder of Gimenez's contract. The Guardians did not improve with this move, and the overall talent on the major league roster has taken a massive hit with Gimenez no longer in the mix.

As expected, Horwitz was not long for Cleveland and was subsequently traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Guardians' second trade in only a matter of hours. The Guardians would receive pitcher Luis Ortiz alongside two minor league arms in Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy. Many applauded the return here, and while it was encouraging that they were able to get something for the odd man out Horwitz, they did not improve with these two moves.

Ortiz could potentially be an arm to stick in the rotation and help bolster a group that desperately needs it, but he is far from the guaranteed upgrade many project him to be. When looking beyond his 3.32 ERA and 1.113 WHIP in 2024, there are some underlying numbers that are a cause for concern. Ortiz only struck out 19.2% of the batters he faced last season while generating ground balls 39.7% of the time, and both of these numbers happen to be quite low. A pitcher can usually live with one of these numbers being on the low side, but both suggest that his outcomes from last season are not sustainable.

Guardians MLB Winter Meetings Grade: D-

This seems harsh, but dumping payroll for the sake of a light return is never going to result in a good grade. If the Guardians wanted to take this approach with Gimenez's contract, they should have done that when his salary would actually be a problem (Gimenez does not exceed $20 million per season until 2027).

For a team that won the American League Central and made an appearance in the ALCS, this is not the approach they should be taking. If the Gimenez trade was based upon the idea of making room for Travis Bazzana, they could have accomplished the same thing by moving him to short, relegating Brayan Rocchio to the bench where he belongs, and using the same group of placeholders at second until Bazzana debuts. But going about it this way at this time? This is an unacceptable way for them to operate, and now they have created a second hole in the middle of their infield for absolutely no reason. This is just an additional area they need to figure out on top of their pitching rotation and outfield, making it difficult to envision a world where they can repeat their success from this past season in 2025.

The only reason their Winter Meetings grade is not an F is due to acquiring one actual major league player in their dealings, not just prospects that might be something someday, and for that, they avoid receiving a failing grade.