The Cleveland Guardians' offseason continues to hum along, as the team avoided arbitration with all seven of their eligible players, including ace Shane Bieber.
Here is the breakdown on what each player will be paid in 2023:
- Shane Bieber: $10.01 million
- Amed Rosario: $7.8 million
- Cal Quantrill: $5.55 million
- Josh Naylor: $3.35 million
- Zach Plesac: $2.95 million
- Aaron Civale: $2.6 million
- James Karinchak: $1.5 million
At the very least, the Guardians can now continue to move forward on preparations for the upcoming season. For pitchers like Plesac and Civale, their roles on the team are perhaps a bit more tenuous going into 2023, especially as a number of young starters are ready to get a taste of the majors, but their salaries at this point are no-brainers.
Amed Rosario was in his final year of arbitration, which might make this his final season in a Cleveland uniform given the amount of middle infield talent lurking in the minors. Still, he's a beloved clubhouse presence and did maintain a 106 OPS+ last season, making him a valuable part of the team despite some of the fans out there clamoring for the team to move on.
There there is Shane Bieber, who has one more year of arbitration beyond this and could become a free agent in 2025. It's highly doubtful that happens, though; the Guardians are either signing him to a relatively friendly extension, or they're trading him for a boatload of prospect capital when that time unfortunately comes,
Until then, the Guardians have solidified a very competitive roster that can truly call itself a contender - a contender with an estimated $91 million payroll, up from $69 million last season. It's still an incredibly young team, but now it will play with the burden of expectations, and that can always impact a season. On paper, though, 2023 is shaping up to be a fun year for Cleveland.