One look at the ALCS lineups is enough to make any Guardians fan cringe

On Sunday night, the Seattle Mariners kicked off the American League Championship Series with a big 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in a battle of American League powerhouses. 

It was also a game filled with former Guardians. 

On one side, Josh Naylor started at first base for the Seattle Mariners. On the other, Ernie Clement and Andrés Giménez started in the middle infield for the Blue Jays while Myles Straw entered the game as a defensive replacement. 

Remember when all those guys spent parts of their major league careers at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario? 

There are plenty of former Guardians who have a chance to make their mark in the ALCS

While having former Guardians compete in the postseason is nothing new thanks to Cleveland’s front office’s penchant for trading players when their value is at their highest, it seems a little more acute this year considering Cleveland’s quiet exit in the postseason at the hands of the rival Detroit Tigers. 

Naylor is far and away the most decorated former Guardian on that list, as he spent five years with the Guardians and became a fan favorite after his All-Star season in 2024. He went 0-for-4 on Sunday, but helped keep things close in Seattle’s marathon win over the Tigers in Game 5 of the ALDS. 

On the other side, Giménez, Clement and Straw went 0-for-7 for the Blue Jays in Toronto’s worst showing this postseason. The Blue Jays also have two other Cleveland connections in Nathan Lukes and Anthony Santander, who came up in Cleveland’s farm system before becoming major leaguers elsewhere. 

Former Guardian Shane Bieber will get the start for the Blue Jays in Game 3 on Wednesday as well. 

The silver lining for Guardians fans is that none of the players were key contributors for the Guardians (outside of Naylor). Giménez’s contract was a (self-inflicted) anvil on the front office, whereas Clement is in the midst of a career renaissance that no one saw coming. The same can be said for Straw, who the Guardians traded away in the offseason along with international pool money. 

If Clement was on the Guardians he likely wouldn’t have gotten the same kind of opportunity he got in Toronto due to Cleveland’s plethora of outfielders, whereas Straw was outrighted off Cleveland's roster ahead of the 2024 season. 

But all of that is cold comfort right now considering the fact they’re still playing in the postseason and the Guardians are sitting at home. 

While the pressure on the Guardians’ front office has slowly been rising over the past couple weeks after Cleveland’s early exit, expect that sentiment to reach a crescendo if a former Guardian does something significant on either team’s quest toward the World Series.