MLB.com’s list of top postseason performers is reminder of Guardians’ strong core

The 2026 postseason featured plenty of impact performances from up and down every big league roster. 

While Freddy Peralta, Jake Bauers and William Contreras had performances that won them MVP awards, they weren’t the only players who ended up standing out from their respective position group. 

MLB.com’s Jared Greenspan provided us with a tangible example of that earlier this week when he published his “All-postseason team” that compiled all the best performers from each respected position in the 2026 postseason. And six Guardians made the cut, two of whom were leaders at their respective positions while four other ones were included as “honorable mentions.” 

The postseason may be a small sample size theater, but the Guardians have so many players on Greenspan’s list serves as a reminder of how well Clevleand played in the postseason along with shining a spotlight on how strong their core is. 

The Guardians got some strong postseason performances from plenty of players on their roster

The first Guardian included on the list is Patrick Bailey, who was listed as an honorable mention at the catcher position. Bailey isn’t known for his bat (he had an OPS+ of 15 in 31 games with the Giants before coming to Cleveland), but he posted a .788 OPS in the postseason with two home runs and four RBI. 

The Guardians gave Bailey the keys to the catching kingdom after they traded for him, and he made that stand up in his strong postseason. 

He was joined in the honorable mention category by José Ramírez, who was behind Manny Machado at third base. Normally Ramírez being listed there would be a bit disappointing since it means he wasn’t the best third baseman in MLB, but it was a clear step in the right direction after his disappointing regular season. 

It looked like that had carried over into the postseason when he got off to an 0-for-6 start in the ALDS, but he bounced back and posted a 1.025 OPS in the nine games after that. Ramírez is the heartbeat of the Guardians’ offense, and his postseason performance showed Father Time hasn’t caught up to him just yet. 

The Guardians also had two honorable mentions in the outfield in Petey Halpin and Chase DeLauter. 

While DeLauter being there isn’t a surprise given his fantastic power, Halpin’s inclusion would have been a huge surprise at the start of the postseason considering he spent the regular season as a part time player. 

But Halpin was thrust into an everyday role thanks to Angel Martínez’s struggles, and he responded with a huge go-ahead home run in Game 3 of the ALCS that featured an incredible bat flip to match. 

The two players who had an "official" spot on Greenspan’s team were pitchers Gavin Williams and Cade Smith, who took spots in the team’s rotation and bullpen, respectively. 

This year’s postseason was Wiliams at his best, as 33 of the 50 outs he recorded came via strikeout. He pitched well in his three starts in the postseason, but the highlight of his time came in Game 4 of the ALDS when he closed out the Guardians’ win two days after starting Game 3.

Speaking of closing, Smith got plenty of work as the Guardians closer, as he pitched in nine of the Guardians’ 11 postseason games and recorded a 2.38 ERA with 14 strikeouts. 

Smith now has 24 2/3 postseason innings under his belt while becoming one of the main Guardians from the Stephen Vogt era. The Guards are always going to be a contender so long as Smith’s at the back of the bullpen.

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