The best Guardians free agent signing of each season since 2020

While the Guardians haven’t made the kind of big splashes that the rest of the American League Central has this offseason, they made a sneaky great move last week by signing Shawn Armstrong to a one-year contract.

Even if Armstrong isn’t a household name, he has a chance to be a valuable asset for the Guardians next season thanks to his strong MLB track record.

So, with Armstrong’s signing fresh in our minds mind, we decided to take a look at the Guardians’ best signing from each of the past six seasons. 

These free agent signings turned into wins for the Guardians

2020 season: Signed 2B César Hernández to a one-year, $6.25 million contract (Dec. 29, 2019) 

After winning 93 games but missing out on the postseason in 2019, Cleveland’s front office reinforced its offense by signing Hernández to a one-year, $6.25 million deal that had both a micro and macro impact on the Guardians’ lineup. 

While Hernández hit .283 and led the American League with 20 doubles during the truncated 2020 season, bringing him into the fold meant that Cleveland was moving forward with José Ramírez as their full-time third baseman after they considered moving him to second base alongside Francisco Lindor. 

Hernández re-signed with Cleveland on another one-year pact in 2021 and was arguably even better (career-high 18 home runs in 96 games), before Cleveland flipped him to the White Sox at the trade deadline. 

2021 season: Signed LHP Anthony Gose to minor league contract (Nov. 17, 2020)

After making the postseason in the 2020 season, Cleveland finally pulled the Lindor ripcord ahead of 2021 by trading the star infielder to the Mets in exchange for Andrés Giménez and Amed Rosario, which reshaped the future of Cleveland baseball.

That restructure only resulted in them making two MLB free agent signings in Hernández (who was traded) and Eddie Rosario, who struggled in his half season in Cleveland and was traded to the Braves for the ghost of Pablo Sandoval. 

So, with those horrible signings in mind, we’re picking Gose as Cleveand’s best signing. While he had spent the past two seasons in the minors with Cleveland as a pitcher, he became a minor league free agent after 2020 but elected to return to Cleveland in the hopes of being able to crack into their restructured bullpen. 

He made his MLB debut for Cleveland at the end of the 2021 season and allowed one run across 6 2/3 innings. He appeared in 22 games for the Guardians in 2022 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. 

2022: Signed RHP Enyel De Los Santos to a minor league contract (Dec. 1, 2021)

Another year, another successful minor league signing. 

While De Los Santos was coming off a season where he had a 6.31 ERA across 35 1/3 innings with the Pirates and Phillies, he ended up becoming one of the most important pieces in the Guardians’ bullpen during their quest toward the postseason. 

He posted a 3.04 ERA in 53 1/3 innings despite not breaking camp with the Guardians and added 3 1/3 scoreless innings in the postseason. He was even better for Cleveland in 2023 (3.29 ERA in 65 2/3 innings) and has pitched for the Padres, White Sox, Yankees, Astros and Braves since leaving Cleveland.