Jeff Passan predicts Guardians will move on from this reclamation project

At some point over the next couple weeks, we’ll get a chance to see John Means make his long-awaited Guardians debut. While the debut will undoubtedly mean a lot for Means (who has thrown just 52 1/3 innings since the start of 2022 due to arm injuries), it’ll also mean a lot for the Guardians front office, since Chris Antonetti and co. signed Means to a one-year, $1 million deal in the offseason that includes a $6 million team option for next season. 

The reason why they signed Means to such a deal was clear. They took a flier on him this year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, and, if they didn’t like what they saw or if Means got hurt, they’d be able to pull the ripcord with no problem in the offseason. 

And even though Means hasn’t made his debut for the Guardians yet, we’re already beginning to see some rumors trickle out about what could come next in regard to the 32-year-old’s future with the Guardians. 

Jeff Passan predicts Guardians will move on from this reclamation project

In a new story for ESPN offering a preview on the upcoming free agent class, MLB insider Jeff Passan had a section about whether or not certain players' team options would be picked up next season, where he had Means’ $6 million team option for next season in the “unlikely to be picked up” section.

At face value, Means’ inclusion in there is a bit odd considering we haven’t seen him on a major league mound yet, so it seems a little rash that the Guardians would have made a decision one way or another about his option. 

But we may be looking at a reality where the uncertainty around Means has become too much for the Guardians front office to feel comfortable giving him $6 million. 

As we highlighted earlier today, the Guardians have an abundance of starting pitching options, which is the biggest reason why they’ve shifted to a six-man rotation for September. 

If Means does make a return this season (he’s throwing a rehab start with Triple-A Columbus tonight), he could end up appearing in a variety of roles.

Although the team wants him to get to a point where he can throw 75-80 pitches, he could very well end up appearing in a bulk/piggybacking role once he gets to the majors depending on how the starting rotation is looking. 

The Guardians are no stranger to taking chances on injured pitchers (their revitalization of Matthew Boyd is baseball’s gold standard), so it makes sense they decided to roll the dice on Means. And, as such, they should have been prepared to ride the wave that comes with that. 

If they do decide to let Means go, it would signify they weren’t prepared.