Guardians all but confirm their 2026 pitching plans with latest roster moves 

In February, the Cleveland Guardians signed John Means to a one-year, $1 million contract with a $6 million option for 2026. 

While Means never appeared for the Guardians in 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, he rehabbed at two separate minor league levels while also spending some time in the Guardians’ big league dugout. 

But as of now, it looks like his time in Cleveland will end without him throwing a pitch in the majors. On Thursday, the Guardians announced that they weren’t picking up Means’ club option, meaning the 32-year-old is officially a free agent. 

That was a part of a bevy of roster moves for the Guardians, who also outrighted pitchers Kolby Allard, Matt Krook and Ben Lively off the 40-man roster along with catcher Dom Nuñez and infielder Will Wilson. 

Additionally they reinstated outfielder Will Brennan and pitchers Sam Hentges and Andrew Walters. All three had been on the 60-day injured list, which doesn’t exist during the offseason. 

The Guardians have elected to let John Means walk in free agency

Means was healthy at the end of the season, but there wasn’t any room for him in the Guardians’ six-man rotation consisting of Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Slade Cecconi, Joey Cantillo, Logan Allen and Parker Messick. 

Means is a one-time All-Star who has flashed frontline stuff in the past, but he’s only thrown 52 1/3 innings since the start of 2022 due to arm injuries. He’ll likely have to settle for a one year contract in free agency. 

The losses of Allard and Lively are also significant — albeit in different ways. 

The Guardians signed Lively to a one-year, $750,000 contract ahead of the 2024 season and he rewarded them with a 3.81 ERA in 152 innings while serving as a constant in a rotation decimated by injuries. He had a 3.22 ERA in 44 2/3 innings this year before suffering an arm injury that required Tommy John surgery. 

He was projected to earn $2.7 million in 2026 through arbitration, which proved to be too steep a price for the Guardians to give to an injured pitcher. 

Allard was the 2025 version of Lively in that he did everything asked of him and excelled (he finished the year with a 2.63 ERA in 65 innings). His fastball sat in the sixth percentile (90.2 miles per hour), but he also was among the league’s best at limiting barrels.

Wilson ended up hitting just .192 in 35 games for the Guardians, while Nuñez appeared in two games while Austin Hedges was on the 7-day concussion IL. Krook never got into a major league game for the Guardians. 

On the other side, Brennan, Walters and Hentges were all tendered contracts after not making much of an impression in 2025. Brennan was set to be on the Guardians’ Opening Day roster before they traded for Nolan Jones.

He ended up going 1-for-11 in six games before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He also had sports hernia surgery in September. He’s projected to make $900,000 in arbitration. 

Walters appeared in two games before suffering a season-ending lat strain, and Hentges didn’t appear in a game while continuing to rehab from Tommy John surgery. 

With Means out of the picture, the Guardians all but confirmed that they’ll start 2026 with the same pitching ensemble they ended the year with, so long as none of them are involved in an offseason move. 

The Guardians’ 40-man roster now sits at 37.