Latest report throws cold water on hype around Guardians ahead of Winter Meetings 

The Cleveland Guardians are entering the Winter Meetings at a crossroads. 

Yesterday countless MLB executives, agents and free agents descended upon Orlando for the biggest event of the MLB offseason which serves as a springboard for countless moves that shift the fabric of the sport. 

But based on a new report from Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes, it seems like the Guardians aren’t going to make a big move at this year’s iteration of the Winter Meetings. 

On Sunday night, Hoynes published a Winter Meetings primer from Orlando, where he wrote that the Guardians aren’t likely to follow the same blueprint they did in 2023 when they signed Josh Bell and Mike Zunino to contracts in the hopes they could fortify the Guardians’ lineup. 

While neither of those experiments worked out (Zunino only played in 42 games and Bell was traded at the deadline), it’s still a bit disheartening to hear that the Guardians won’t be on some of the big name free agents — especially when there are some affordable options out there.

As Hoynes wrote: “The Guardians have spent several years drafting, signing and developing young hitters and position players. They are not inclined to repeat the Bell-Zunino experiment because they do not want to slow their prospects’ development.”

It looks like the Guardians won’t be adding to their lineup at the Winter Meetings 

As such, it seems like Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias will be back in the fold again despite the infield being a place where the Guardians could benefit from an upgrade. Both players have some promising intangibles, but their red flags are beginning to get too much to ignore.

Last week we highlighted Arias as a potential trade chip the Guardians could dangle during the Winter Meetings, but now it seems more likely that he’s going to open 2026 as the Guardians’ starting shortstop. 

Hoynes also wrote that Bo Naylor will continue to be the Guardians starting catcher, which is the right move. Naylor finished the season hot (.290 batting average in September) and hit a big home run in the postseason, and will once again be backed up by Austin Hedges. 

Naylor may have a career batting average under .200, but he has all the tools needed to succeed. 

C.J. Kayfus also impressed in his limited action last year according to Hoynes so he should get plenty of chances in right field and at first base, while rookies Chase DeLauter and George Valera should get plenty of chances in the outfield. 

The good news is that Hoynes wrote that the Guardians could be in the market to add pitching. They already got a jump-start on doing so by signing Connor Brogdon to a $900,000 contract, but that’s about as minor of a big league acquisition you can make. 

Last year the Guardians signed Shane Bieber to a contract right before the start of the Winter Meetings, so they’ve already begun to follow a blueprint they’ve used in years prior. Last year that blueprint led to the Guardians trading Andrés Giménez to the Blue Jays.

It looks like that won’t be the case this offseason.