MLB Off-Season Bold Prediction: Guardians Will Be Spenders

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CLEVELAND – After a successful season in which the Cleveland Guardians made it all of the way to the American League Championship Series, it seems likely that the team will not shy away from spending several millions of dollars on highly sought-after free agents. If you’re a Cleveland fan, you’re probably not taking this point very seriously right now. After all, Guardians owner Larry Dolan rarely spends money on big-name free agents. With a few notable exceptions like the off-season in which Cleveland signed Michael Bourne and Nick Swisher, Dolan never really established a reputation for spending 20 million dollars on any one player let alone two or three outside of contract extensions.

After winning against the Detroit Tigers in the American League Divisional Series, the team is in a position to be ambitious with no questions asked. This isn’t the time for Dolan to approach free agency with a mindset of being unsure if this is the right time to spend the big bucks. The team needs to compete with the big market teams like the Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets. Granted, the payroll won’t be remotely close to what these teams can shell out.

Cleveland doesn’t generate the same level of revenue as New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and markets like them. Even so, with a dramatic increase in attendance and post-season success, it’s at least a possibility that Cleveland won’t go into the off-season with a conservative mindset.

Cleveland may not necessarily go after power bats in free agency or trades. It’s more likely that the Guardians will look to build a starting pitching rotation that rivals every team in Major League Baseball. Although the Guardians were expected to have a top-three starting pitching rotation, injuries derailed such a possibility. The immediate injury to Shane Bieber was the first domino. Eventually, the team signed a contract with Matthew Boyd and traded for Alex Cobb. Boyd and Cobb are both free agents along with Bieber. It’s possible that Dolan would rather make things simple by signing all three of them. After all, it’s a huge risk signing bigger names like Nathan Eovaldi. Justin Verlander will be outside of Cleveland’s price range so there’s nothing to count on there. Signing Walker Buehler could prove to be difficult but it is a possibility. The Guardians will likely keep Bieber and could sign him at a cheaper cost given his injury history.

Even with a somewhat limited annual budget, the Guardians are likely spending more than in previous seasons. The team should expect to keep Bieber while also signing Buehler or Eovaldi at least. Eovaldi will seem like an unrealistic signing at first given that he will likely earn a salary of 20 million dollars per year but that’s nothing in comparison to what Verlander will receive. If Dolan is willing to spend, which is the current expectation, the team could negotiate with Eovaldi immediately. Some experts and fans will quickly dismiss the idea, stating there’s absolutely no way Dolan will commit that much money to one player. Bieber previously signed for $13.5 million per year but he’ll likely receive a lesser salary now. Bieber suffered a season-ending elbow injury after just two starts in 2024. The injury required Tommy John surgery. He missed two months in 2023 due to an elbow injury as well. The other issue is his fastball is losing velocity. He is able to mix up his pitches effectively however so his salary may not drop significantly.

Most likely possibilities

Cleveland signs:

Shane Bieber- 2 years, $21.5 million

Nathan Eovaldi- 2 years, $44 million

Matthew Boyd – 1 year, $5 million

Cleveland might also make a trade for a power hitter at some point.