Who Will Emerge From Cleveland's Middle Infield?

"The Guardians have had a quiet offseason, only re-signing backup catcher Austin Hedges and acquiring a handful of relievers on one-year deals. They've yet to add anyone to a lineup that ranked 28th in scoring. They were the only team in the bottom 10 that made the postseason, so it's unlikely they'll get back to October without improving the offense."

"Cleveland's budgetary restrictions mean they're never going to accomplish much via free agency. They're unlikely to often package top prospects for marquee trade chips. The Guardians should make a smaller move or two in the back half of the offseason. They opened last season with a $103MM payroll, and RosterResource calculates their '26 obligations around $78MM. Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com wrote as part of a reader mailbag over the weekend that he expected some kind of lineup acquisition on a short-term deal."

"That said, the majority of the necessary offensive improvements will have to come internally. That's especially true in the middle infield, where serviceable free agent options are slim. Cleveland middle infielders combined for a .225/.289/.359 slash line with a 27.6% strikeout rate that was 29th in MLB (marginally better than the Angels' 27.8% mark). That's clearly an area for upgrade as the 2024 first overall pick gets closer to making his debut. How will things shake out?"

The Guardians made minimal offseason moves, re-signing backup catcher Austin Hedges and adding relievers on one-year deals while leaving a lineup that ranked 28th in scoring largely unchanged. Budget constraints and a reduced projected payroll limit big free-agent signings and marquee prospect trades, so the club will likely pursue smaller, short-term additions such as a right-handed outfield bat after Lane Thomas's departure. Most offensive improvement must come internally, especially in the middle infield, where Cleveland batters combined for a .225/.289/.359 slash and a 27.6% strikeout rate, 29th in MLB. The current middle-infield mix includes Gabriel Arias, Daniel Schneemann, Brayan Rocchio, and Angel Martínez.

Read at MLB Trade Rumors