Guardians lose depth after double season-ending surgery blows

While the Cleveland Guardians may not have a roster filled with superstars, they've always been able to pride themselves on the amount of organizational depth they have.

That depth took a hit on Monday when the team announced that outfielder Will Brennan underwent a full left UCL repair and reliever Andrew Walters had surgery to repair his right lat.

The injuries are expected to keep both of them out until 2026, and they'll also put a bit more pressure on some other key players on the Guardians roster.

The Guardians roster depth is going to be tested thanks to Andrew Walters and Will Brennan's injuries

Brennan and Walters' dueling surgeries is a bit poetic considering they journey they went on this season. They were both optioned to Triple-A on the same day during spring training, and both joined the Guardians' big league roster in May with their sights set on helping the team win.

Brennan was called up on May 12 and went 1-for-11 in his short MLB tenure, while Walters was called up at the end of May and pitched in two games before suffering his injury.

While no team wants to deal with injuries, Brennan and Walters' injuries impact the Guardians at their two most dire positions.

Guardians outfielders have combined for a wRC+ of just 74 despite having an All-Star in Steven Kwan in left field, and their bullpen is a bit more average this year after being lights out last year.

Brennan lost his spot on the roster when the team signed Nolan Jones at the end of spring training to fill the left-handed hitting part of the platoon in right field, but Jones has hit just .215 this year and has been worth -0.9 bWAR. The Guardians have been searching for help in right field all year.

The Guardians added to their outfield depth on Monday by reinstating Lane Thomas from the injured list, but they're just one injury away from needing to the roster in a way they might not like.

Walters made his MLB debut last September and pitched 8 2/3 sparkling innings with the Guardians before allowing one run across three innings in the postseason.

He would have gotten an MLB shot earlier this year if not a shoulder injury that kept him on the minor league injured list for more than a month.

Walters likely would have slid into one of the middle-leverage roles currently occupied by Jakob Junis or Matt Festa, but those plans have been put on hold for a year.

The Guardians have plenty of players with positional versatility like Daniel Schneemann, Gabriel Arias or Ángel Martínez, but none of them provide the glove-first, contract-based approach that Brennan was known for. The same can be said for Walters, who has a live fastball that generates plenty of swing and miss.

They were both part of the Guardians' postseason roster last year, but we'll have to wait a year to see them back in action.