Predicting the Guardians' 40-Man roster ahead of important offseason

The Cleveland Guardians are facing an uncertain offseason with significant offensive holes, a handful of young players vying for limited playing time and a bullpen depleted by injury and off-field issues.

The first step in understanding how the Guardians will navigate the those holes this offseason is by establishing their 40-man roster ahead of tomorrow's deadline. Any eligible minor leaguer not added to a team's 40-man roster by 6 p.m. tomorrow will be eligible to be selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft.

With that roster deadline in mind, here's a look at what we think the Guardians' 40-man roster will look like in 2026.

The Guardians have a lot of 40-man decisions to make this offseason

Pitcher Locks (12)

Starting pitchers (4)

RHP Tanner Bibee
RHP Slade Cecconi
RHP Daniel Espino
RHP Gavin Williams

Relievers (8)

RHP Nic Enright
RHP Matt Festa
RHP Hunter Gaddis
LHP Sam Hentges
LHP Tim Herrin
LHP Erik Sabrowski
RHP Cade Smith
LHP Andrew Walters

Arguably the biggest surprise of this group is the the presence of Hentges, whom the Guardians tendered a contract to earlier this month despite the fact he hasn't appeared in a game since more than a year and a half due to a variety of arm injuries.

Enright and Walters are also recovering from their own injuries but require a 40-man spot during the offseason.

Probable pitches (5)

RHP Franco Aleman
LHP Logan Allen
LHP Joey Cantillo
LHP Parker Messick
LHP Doug Nikhazy

The inclusion of three MLB-level starting pitchers (and Nikhazy, who debuted in 2025) may come as a surprise, but Cleveland has a surplus of left-handed starting pitchers. It wouldn't be surprising to see one of these players dealt at some point in the offseason.

Position-Player Locks (9)

C Austin Hedges
C Bo Naylor
1B/OF CJ Kayfus
1B/DH Kyle Manzardo
3B José Ramírez
INF Brayan Rocchio
OF Will Brennan
OF Chase DeLauter
OF Petey Halpin

Brennan is the surprise name on this list considering he didn’t make the Opening Day roster last season before missing almost all of the year with an arm injury. However, Cleveland tendered him a contract and it now seems likely that he’ll rejoin the club on Opening Day in 2026.

Position-Player Probables (7)

SS Gabriel Arias
INF Juan Brito
Utilty David Fry
Utilty Daniel Schneeman
OF Steven Kwan
OF Angel Martínez
OF George Valera

There are some big names on this list. Kwan has been the center of trade rumors since June and will be featured in plenty of trade rumors until he (hopefully) opens the season with the Guardians on Opening Day.

Additionally, Cleveland must make decisions on the utility players and young outfielders. Brito has been knocking on the door for a few years and was recently granted a fourth option year, while Arias will likely face some stiff competition at shortstop after holding the position down in 2026.

That list leaves us with seven open roster sports after 33 locks/probables.

It's likely that Angel Genao will take one of the spots considering he's one of Cleveland’s top prospects and needs to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft.

The Guardians' front office has a variety of tough decisions to make about the final six spots on the roster.

Nolan Jones, Jhonkensy Noel, and Johnathan Rodríguez are all under club control but will face the burden of modest production and an upcoming roster crunch. Cleveland also must rebuild a portion of their bullpen thanks to injuries to Enright, Hentges, and Walters.

It is most likely that Cleveland will add an arm or two and bring in a low-cost external outfielder. It is also worth noting that it is likely that Cleveland will not fill all 40 over the next two weeks just so they have flexibility to acquire players throughout the offseason.