Guardians have no-brainer decision to make on risky signing's contract option

While the contract John Means signed with the Guardians last February was a one-year, $1 million pact for 2025, it was done with 2026 in mind. 

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2024 (the second TJ surgery of his career), Means wasn’t expected to make a big contribution in 2025. Instead, the biggest part of the deal was in the form of the $6 million club option the Guardians have for Means in 2026. 

And although Means never appeared in a game for the Guardians in 2025 while rehabbing from that aforementioned Tommy John surgery, the Guardians should still pick up his $6 million option. 

The Guardians need to pick up John Means’ option for 2026

The first reason they should do so is simple: he could help them in 2026. Although his numbers in Triple-A weren’t great last year (7.97 ERA in 20 1/3 innings), he’s a former All-Star who has also thrown a no-hitter. 

Yes, he’s only thrown 52 1/3 innings since the start of 2022, but the Guardians pitching factory has proven that it can turn hurt pitchers into productive major leaguers. 

The Guardians would also be able to ease Means into action thanks to the abundance of solid starting options on their roster. The finished the year with a six-man rotation consisting of Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Slade Cecconi, Parker Messick, Joey Cantillo and Logan Allen. 

While they likely won’t start 2026 with a six-man rotation (and could dip into that depth in an offseason trade), that group is still headlined by durable pitchers who have proven they can take the ball every fifth day. 

Means would be a depth option in that group, which means the Guardians could even use him in the bullpen initially to help him build up his strength. 

His $6 million team option would make him the third-highest paid player on the Guardians’ roster (as of now), but it would be money well spent. The Guardians have plenty of young talent that makes the league minimum (or a little bit more), so they can afford to pay that much for Means. 

And, if Means doesn’t work out or ends up becoming redundant, they could always trade him at some point during the spring. Pitcher injuries always occur in bunches during spring training, so there will be no shortage of teams in need of pitching help ahead of the start of the season. 

The only way the Guardians should let Means go this offseason is if they feel that he’s too far gone in terms of his injury. That would obviously be easier to do if he had appeared in a game with the Guardians this year, but there’s still plenty of Triple-A data for the decision makers to use when thinking about Means’ future.

While it’s a decision that comes with a bit of uncertainty, the Guardians should still pick up Means’ option for 2026.