The Athletic just validated Guardians fans' feelings over uninspiring offseason

The Cleveland Guardians offseason has been many things, but exciting hasn’t been one of them. While their bullpen acquisitions fill an obvious hole on the roster, it still doesn’t take away from the fact that their lone offensive acquisition during the winter has been adding Stuart Fairchild on a minor league contract. 

As the cries of anger from the fanbase over that inaction have begun to hit a fever pitch, one prominent member of the baseball media landscape also added his voice to the choir on Thursday by including the Guardians in a list highlighting MLB teams that he believes have “moved backward” so far this offseason. 

In that aforementioned story for The Athletic (subscription required), former MLB GM Jim Bowden wrote that the Guardians’ quiet offseason was the third-worst among MLB teams this winter behind only the Mets and Yankees. 

Normally, being included in a list with two of the biggest spenders in the sport is a good thing. But, in this particular case, the Guardians inclusion next to them isn’t a term of endearment. 

Jim Bowden isn’t a fan of the Guardians’ quiet offseason 

Cleveland’s inclusion on the list boils down to their inactivity in adding to their outfield, which has been a deafening refrain from Guardians fans all offseason. 

“The Guardians seem to be taking Ambien this offseason as they’ve done practically nothing outside of adding pitching depth with their signings of Shawn Armstrong, Colin Holderman and Connor Brogdon. For a team desperately in need of middle-of-the-order offense, it is disappointing that they haven’t done anything to address that area,” he wrote. 

It looks even worse when compared to the activity (or lack thereof) from some of the other teams in their division. While the Tigers reinforced their bullpen with Kenley Jansen and the Royals added Lane Thomas, neither of them have taken huge steps in a largely winnable division. 

Heck, even the lowly Twins and White Sox made moves to add bats to their lineup. Even if the Guardians are making the right move by giving Chase DeLauter and George Valera plenty of chances to earn everyday at-bats, their lack of ability to bring in anyone is extremely frustrating. 

There are still plenty of solid trade targets available like Boston’s Jarren Duran or St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan (both of whom Bowden mentioned as targets for Cleveland), but Cleveland’s front office seems unwilling to part with the prospect capital needed to acquire any of those players. 

While the Guardians made it to the postseason in 2025, they did it on the back of an unsustainable winning streak along with a historic collapse by the Tigers. Nearly everything broke their way, and it’s hard to see that happening again. 

The Guardians are always going to be in the hunt for the division thanks to the presence of José Ramírez, but it’s clear they need to put more around him.