Guardians need to avoid trying to squeeze last bit of production out of former postseason villain in free agency

In 2018, George Springer sent the Guardians to a quick postseason exit when he mashed three homers in the Astros’ three-game sweep in the ALDS. While the Astros win that year gained a big asterisk after Houston’s sign-stealing scandal was unearthed, Springer still has a reputation as one of the best postseason performers in all of baseball. 

That said, he didn’t get a chance to grow that legacy this fall thanks to the Blue Jays disappointing season that ended with a 79-83 record. That could also result in the end of Springer’s time with Toronto, as this was the final year of the six-year, $150 million contract he signed with the Blue Jays before the 2021 season. 

Although Springer said at the end of the season that he “didn’t know” about his future, the 37-year-old is clearly on the back-nine of his career. But even though that’s the case, he should still have plenty of suitors if he decides to try to squeeze one more season out of his career. 

The Guardians shouldn’t be one of them. 

Springer may still have some juice as a designated hitter, but he wouldn’t be a great fit on the roster (and is by no means worth the projected $10.2 million price tag that’s been floating around on Twitter). 

If this was last year maybe, but we saw how things went this year when the Guardians picked Rhys Hoskins as their veteran bounce-back candidate and he put together a disastrous season that ended when he suffered a back injury. No need to repeat history. 

The Guardians need to stay away from adding George Springer in the offseason

The one bonus that would come from adding Springer is the fact he has 23 postseason homers under his belt (the fourth-most in MLB history). We added to that last year when he racked up four homers on the Blue Jays’ run to the World Series. 

It would be one thing if Springer could be a part of the Guardians’ long-term future, but at this point in his career he’s nothing more than a hired gun trying to get one more postseason moment. He finished 2026 with a .726 OPS in 126 games while being worth 0.6 bWAR, which is the lowest-mark he had across a full season. 

He also wouldn’t be a great fit considering he’s pretty much a full-time designated hitter at this point, and the Guardians already have a bat-first logjam with Angel Martínez, Chase DeLauter and Jo Adell. 

There’s going to be a lot of time in the offseason to go over possible free agent targets (more time than usual, in fact), but Springer is one name we can cross off the board early.

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