News Guardians Team Notes

Cardinals Claim Zak Kent

The Cardinals announced Friday that they’ve claimed right-hander Zak Kent off waivers from the Guardians. The Cards already had a pair of 40-man vacancies and are now up to 39 players on the roster.

Kent, 28 in February, made his big league debut in Cleveland this past season. He tossed 17 2/3 innings out of the Guards’ bullpen and yielded nine earned runs (4.58 ERA) with a 21.1% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. Kent averaged 92.6 mph on his four-seamer and 93.6 mph on a sparsely used sinker. His breaking offerings include a mid-80s slider and a low-80s curveball.

Though Kent didn’t show much in his relatively limited run at the MLB level, he turned in a sharp 2.84 ERA in 38 Triple-A frames last year. Command issues still plagued him, evidenced by 13.2% walk rate, but he also set down more than 31% of his opponents on strikes. He’s long been credited as having a pair of plus breaking pitches, but his sub-par fastball velocity and poor command have undercut the quality of both those breaking pitches.

Kent is out of minor league options, so the Cardinals can’t send him to Triple-A Memphis next season without first passing him through waivers. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Kent is eligible for a fourth option, so perhaps the Cards will apply for that and be granted another option for Kent. There’s no guarantee he makes it to spring training on the 40-man roster, but if he does stick on the roster all winter, Kent should have an opportunity to win a job in what should be a wide-open competition for at least four bullpen spots (five, if the Cardinals trade JoJo Romero, as expected).
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/cardinals-claim-zak-kent-waivers-guardians.html
 
2025 Rule 5 Draft Results

The 2025 Rule 5 draft is taking place this afternoon at the Winter Meetings in Orlando. This post will be updated with the results as they come in.

As a refresher, the Rule 5 draft is a way for players potentially talented enough for the big leagues but blocked by their current clubs to find opportunities elsewhere. Any players that were 18 and under at the time of their original signing and went professional in 2021, and any players who turned pro at 19 years of age or older in 2022, are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft if they are not on a 40-man roster.

Though the amateur (Rule 4) draft now has a lottery to determine the selection order, the Rule 5 draft still goes the old-fashioned way of reverse order of standings from the season that just ended. Clubs need to have an open 40-man roster spot in order to make a pick but aren’t obligated to make a selection on their turn. If they do make a pick, they will have to pay $100K to the team they select from. The selected players must stay on the active roster (or injured list) for the entire 2026 season or else be placed on waivers. If they clear waivers, they must be offered back to their original team. They cannot be optioned to the minors.

Players like Anthony Santander and Ryan Pressly have been notable picks in other recent years while guys like George Bell and Roberto Clemente are found deeper in the history books. Last year, 15 players were selected. Only four of those remain with the club who selected them and only three of those have had their rights fully transferred to their new club. The White Sox took Shane Smith from the Brewers. The Marlins took Liam Hicks from the Tigers. Mike Vasil was taken by the Phillies from the Mets but was later traded to the Rays and then went to the White Sox via waivers.

The one other pick from last year’s draft which is still live is Angel Bastardo, who the Blue Jays took from the Red Sox. He was recovering from Tommy John surgery and spent the entire 2025 season on the injured list. He is still on Toronto’s 40-man but they don’t yet have his full rights, as a player needs at least 90 active days to remove the Rule 5 restrictions. If the Jays are willing to roster him for about three months during the 2026 season, they could then gain his full rights and option him to the minors. All other picks were eventually returned to their original organization and/or became free agents.

This year’s picks will be featured below as they come in…

  1. Rockies: RHP RJ Petit (from the Tigers) (Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs was on this before the official announcement)
  2. White Sox: RHP Jedixson Paez (Red Sox)
  3. Nationals: RHP Griff McGarry (Phillies)
  4. Twins: C Daniel Susac (Athletics) (Susac was then traded to the Giants, per Longenhagen. The Twins will get minor league catcher Miguel Caraballo in return, per Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune)
  5. Pirates: RHP Carter Baumler (Orioles) (The Pirates then traded Baumler to the Rangers for RHP Jaiker Garcia. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News previously suggested Texas would likely get Baumler)
  6. Angels: pass
  7. Orioles: pass
  8. Athletics: RHP Ryan Watson (Giants) (Will be traded to Red Sox, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The A’s will get Justin Riemer in return, per Cotillo.)
  9. Braves: pass
  10. Rays: pass
  11. Cardinals: RHP Matt Pushard (Marlins)
  12. Marlins: pass
  13. Diamondbacks: pass
  14. Rangers: pass
  15. Giants: pass
  16. Royals: pass
  17. Reds: pass
  18. Mets: pass
  19. Tigers: pass
  20. Astros: RHP Roddery Muñoz (Reds)
  21. Guardians: RHP Peyton Pallette (White Sox)
  22. Red Sox: pass
  23. Mariners: pass
  24. Padres: pass
  25. Cubs: pass
  26. Dodgers: pass
  27. Blue Jays: RHP Spencer Miles (Giants)
  28. Yankees: RHP Cade Winquest (Cardinals)
  29. Phillies: RHP Zach McCambley (Marlins)
  30. Brewers: pass

Second round (all others passed)


Photo courtesy of Mike Watters, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/2025-rule-5-draft-results.html
 
Guardians Notes: Kwan, Bullpen, Valera, Rocchio

As expected, it has been a quiet start to the offseason for the Guardians. Their only major league moves thus far have been to re-sign backup catcher Austin Hedges and add middle reliever Connor Brogdon. Cleveland rarely attacks free agency, and they seem generally unlikely to make major moves on the trade front in either direction this winter.

The Guardians heard teams out on Steven Kwan at the deadline. They didn’t find an offer to their liking, and they’re less inclined to sell after making a surprise late-season run to another AL Central title. Unsurprisingly, ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote this morning that while the Guards aren’t going to close themselves off to offers, they’re currently inclined to hold him into next season.

An offseason trade would be selling at a bit of a low point. Kwan had a .700 OPS or worse in each of the final four months. His overall .272/.330/.374 line was league average, but that was carried mostly by a fantastic April. It’s primarily a reflection of a drop in his batting average on balls in play. BABIP volatility is to be expected for a player who rarely hits the ball hard but is one of the sport’s five best pure contact hitters. The bat-to-ball skills and plus defense in left field give him a solid floor, and both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference valued him around three wins above replacement.

Kwan is under team control for two seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for an $8.8MM salary. The Guardians don’t have much on the books beyond the well below-market José Ramírez contract. They’re not under any financial pressure to move him. Even if other teams value him just as highly as they did over the summer, a trade would remove the only established outfielder from Stephen Vogt’s lineup. Rookies Chase DeLauter, Petey Halpin and George Valera and the out-of-options Nolan Jones are currently in line to divide the center and right field playing time. The Guards already need to add to the outfield, and a Kwan trade would only push that further.

Cleveland is also in the market for multiple relievers, Vogt told reporters at the Winter Meetings (link via Tim Stebbins of MLB.com). “We need depth in the bullpen,” the two-time AL Manager of the Year said. “We have four, maybe five guys in our bullpen, and we need eight.”

It’s safe to assume Emmanuel Clase isn’t coming back. That keeps Cade Smith in the closer role. Hunter Gaddis is a quality setup arm from the right side. The rest of the group is in flux. Brogdon and Matt Festa are out of options and probably set to open the season in middle relief. Neither should be ticketed for leverage spots. There’s even less certainty from the left side. Tim Herrin and Erik Sabrowski have each shown promise but struggled to throw strikes. Even if a depth starter like Joey Cantillo or Doug Nikhazy ends up in long relief, they need more trustworthy arms.

Additionally, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports that the Guardians have been granted a fourth option year on both Valera and second base prospect Juan Brito. Players can typically only be optioned to the minor leagues in three separate seasons after being added to the 40-man roster. After that, teams need to pass them through waivers and outright them off the 40-man to send them down.

Exceptions are made for players who have less than five full seasons (90+ days) on an MLB or minor league active roster. That usually occurs because the player took a while to reach full-season ball — especially for international signings who signed their first contract at 16 — and/or missed chunks of a season to injury. Valera didn’t play a full minor league season until 2021 and missed most of this past season working back from knee surgery. Brito didn’t play a full season until 2022, so he’d have been eligible for the fourth option even if he were fully healthy. He missed most of the ’25 season because of thumb and hamstring issues.

Valera and Brito could each be in the mix for Opening Day roster spots. The Guardians have the flexibility to send them to Triple-A Columbus for another season, though both right field and second base are open in the short term. There’s probably more pressure on Brito to break out, as top prospect Travis Bazzana has already hit his way to Triple-A. Bazzana has the higher ceiling and is viewed as the long-term second baseman, meaning Brito might not have much runway even if he breaks camp.

Vogt told reporters that Brayan Rocchio will play a lot of shortstop during Spring Training. They’ll move Gabriel Arias around in a utility role, leaving the door open for Brito or Bazzana to play their way into the second base job early in the season. Rocchio divided his time evenly between the middle infield spots this year, though he was mostly at the keystone in the second half. He’s out of options and probably isn’t in jeopardy of losing his roster spot, but he’s a .222/.293/.327 in more than 900 plate appearances over parts of three seasons. He’s entering his age-25 campaign and in a bit of a make-or-break spot himself if he’s going to remain an everyday player.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/guardians-notes-kwan-bullpen-valera-rocchio.html
 
Guardians Sign Colin Holderman

The Guardians announced the signing of right-hander Colin Holderman to a one-year deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. It’s reportedly a $1.5MM salary for the ACES client. The Guards had a 40-man vacancy, so the roster is now full.

Holderman, 30, was non-tendered by the Pirates last month. That wasn’t a terrible shock, as his 2025 season wasn’t great, due to some injuries and struggles when healthy. However, he was actually quite good in the prior two seasons, so the Guards will see if they can find a bounceback.

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Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Holderman tossed 107 1/3 innings out of the Pittsburgh bullpen. His four-seamer and sinker both averaged above 97 miles per hour, while he also mixed in a cutter and a slider. He allowed 3.52 earned runs per nine frames. His 9.7% walk rate was a tad high but acceptable. His 24.6% strikeout rate and 45.8% ground ball rate were both a bit better than par. He earned two saves and 48 holds, living up to his surname.

But as mentioned, he wasn’t able to keep it going in 2025. He missed about three weeks in April due to a right knee sprain. After being reinstated, right thumb inflammation put him back on the IL for about six weeks. Around those IL stints, he posted a 7.01 ERA in 25 2/3 innings. He walked 12.8% of batters faced while only getting strikeouts at a 14.4% clip.

Holderman had qualified for arbitration a year ago as a Super Two player. The Bucs paid him $1.5MM in 2025. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Holderman for a modest bump to $1.7MM in 2026. The Pirates decided not to pay that after his poor season, so they non-tendered him and sent him to free agency.

Cleveland’s manager Stephen Vogt recently said that his club would be looking to add depth to the bullpen. Holderman is a low-cost pick-up and he also has options, so he can be kept in Triple-A if he’s not able to get back on track. He added a splitter in 2025, though he only threw it 3.9% of the time in his truncated season. Perhaps some better health will give him some time to flesh that out more. If he is still on the 40-man roster at the end of the season, he could be retained beyond 2026 via arbitration.

Robert Murray of FanSided reported the agreement. Zack Meisel of The Athletic reported the $1.5MM salary. Photo courtesy of James A. Pittman, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/guardians-to-sign-colin-holderman.html
 
Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt Signed Multi-Year Extension

When the Guardians originally hired Stephen Vogt as their new manager following the 2023 season, it was announced that he’d signed a three-year contract covering the 2024-26 seasons. Vogt, however, isn’t coming up on the final year of his contract as it might have seemed. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Guardians quietly signed Vogt to a multi-year extension following the 2024 campaign. The new contract was never announced, nor was it reported at the time.

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Vogt, 41, has been named American League Manager of the Year in each of his two seasons as Cleveland’s skipper. Under his watch, the Guardians have twice enjoyed late-season rallies to force their way into the postseason. The ’24 Guardians won 88 games and topped the Tigers in the ALDS before falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. In 2025, Cleveland won 92 games but lost to the Tigers in a 2-1 Wild Card series defeat. Overall, Vogt is 180-143 as a big league manager.

It’s not entirely clear how long Vogt’s new contract runs, but he’s likely signed through at least the 2028 season now. He’ll continue overseeing a club that’s anchored by perennial MVP candidate José Ramirez and is on the cusp of welcoming a new wave of top prospects who could comprise the Guardians’ long-term core.

Outfield prospect Chase DeLauter made his big league debut in 2025. He’ll be joined by 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana at some point in 2026, and fellow top prospects like infielder Angel Genao and catcher Cooper Ingle could make their debuts this coming season as well. Bazzana and Ingle both reached Triple-A in 2025; Genao held his own as a 21-year-old in Double-A. Pitching prospect Khal Stephen, acquired from the Blue Jays in the deadline deal sending Shane Bieber to Toronto, dominated up through the Double-A level in ’25 and could be an option to join Vogt’s rotation in 2026.

Though the Guardians are unlikely to ever field a payroll that’s consistently in the top half of the league, the presence of Ramirez, some quality arms (e.g. Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee), looming young prospects and a perennially successful player development department should continue to put Vogt and the Guardians organization in position for success within the American League Central.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025...stephen-vogt-signed-multi-year-extension.html
 
Guardians Acquire Justin Bruihl, Designate Jhonkensy Noel For Assignment

The Guardians have acquired left-hander Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs. The Jays had designated the lefty for assignment earlier this week. To open a 40-man spot, the Guards designated outfielder Jhonkensy Noel for assignment.

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Bruihl, 29 in June, signed a minor league deal with the Jays ahead of the 2025 campaign. He eventually earned a roster spot and had a decent season, in some ways. His 5.27 earned run average in the majors doesn’t look nice, but that came in a small sample of 13 2/3 innings. He also had a strong 27.7% strikeout rate and 46.2% ground ball rate in that time. His 10.8% walk rate was a bit high but he was really held back by a .459 batting average on balls in play. ERA estimators such as his 4.16 FIP and 3.42 SIERA were far more optimistic.

His minor league numbers look more like those latter metrics than his big league ERA. He tossed 42 innings for Triple-A Buffalo with a 3.43 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 58.4% ground ball rate.

Bruihl doesn’t throw especially hard. His two-seamer averaged just 90.2 miles per hour this year. He also mixed in a cutter at 87.5 mph and a 78.4 mph slider. He nonetheless managed to punch guys out and avoid hard contact. The Jays sent him between Triple-A and the majors this year but he was enough of a factor to be on their ALDS roster against a lefty-heavy Yankee lineup. He wasn’t carried on the roster for subsequent rounds.

Despite some intriguing numbers this year, he got squeezed off Toronto’s roster this week. He exhausted his final option in 2025 and will be out of options going forward. With the Jays also having lefties Brendon Little, Mason Fluharty and Eric Lauer on the roster, they designated Bruihl for assignment.

The Guards are intrigued enough to bring him aboard. Their southpaw relief contingent is currently headlined by Erik Sabrowski and Tim Herrin but those two each walked more than 15.5% of batters faced in 2025. Joey Cantillo could be in the mix but he’s more of a long reliever. With Bruihl’s option status, he’ll have to perform but there’s a path for him to earn a job in the Cleveland bullpen. He has under two years of service time, meaning he hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration and can be controlled for five full seasons if he can hold a roster spot.

The unfortunate side effect of adding Bruihl is that the Guards have cut “Big Christmas” from the roster barely a week before the holiday he’s named after. Noel has shown some big power in his career but also has a poor approach at the plate. In his 351 big league plate appearances, 32.8% of them have ended in a strikeout while he has only drawn a walk 4.8% of the time.

Despite hitting 19 home runs, his .193/.242/.401 batting line translates to a 79 wRC+. He’s not a good defender nor is he a burner on the basepaths, so he really needs to hit to provide value. The homers help but the overall offense has been lacking.

Like Bruihl, he exhausted his final option season in 2025. That was going to make it harder for the Guards to keep him on the roster, especially with guys like Chase DeLauter and George Valera reaching the big leagues this year.

He’ll head into DFA limbo and see if the Guards can line up a trade or if anyone wants him on waivers. If he lands somewhere else, he can be controlled for five full seasons. Since he has less than three years of service and doesn’t have a previous career outright, he will not have the right to elect free agency if he is passed through outright waivers unclaimed.

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Dennis Lee, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025...-designate-jhonkensy-noel-for-assignment.html
 
Guardians To Sign Shawn Armstrong

The Guardians and right-hander Shawn Armstrong have agreed to a deal, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The ISE Baseball client will be guaranteed $5.5MM on a one-year pact with a mutual option. The Guards have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make this deal official.

Armstrong returns to his original organization. He was drafted by Cleveland back in 2011 and pitched for them in the majors from 2015 to 2017. In the almost decade since then, he has spent time with the Mariners, Orioles, Rays, Marlins, Cardinals, Cubs and Rangers.

Despite that nomadic journey, his performance has been fairly steady in some respects. His earned run average has wobbled from year to year, but that’s not unusual for relief pitchers, who pitch a small number of innings annually and can have ERA swings from a few bad games. From 2019 to 2025, Armstrong tossed at least 36 innings in each full season with at least 52 frames in five out of six. His strikeout rate finished between 22% and 27% in each of those. His walk rate has finished below 9.2% in six straight seasons.

Put it all together and Armstrong has thrown 363 1/3 innings since the start of 2019 with a 3.96 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. Despite that fairly solid trajectory, he settled for a modest $1.25MM deal with the Rangers for the 2025 season.

Texas was surely pleased with that investment. Armstrong averaged about 94 miles per hour on both his four-seamer and sinker while also mixing in a cutter, slider and curveball. He tossed 74 innings on the year with a 2.31 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. His .196 batting average on balls in play and 76.3% strand rate were unsustainably fortunate but his 3.07 FIP and 3.36 SIERA suggest he would have fared well even with neutral luck. He saved nine games and registered 12 holds for the Rangers.

Armstrong has parlayed that into a new deal worth more than four times his last one, the biggest payday of the 35-year-old’s career. The Guardians had a strong bullpen in 2025, as their collective 3.44 ERA was third in the majors behind only the Padres and Red Sox. They are down one key member, as Emmanuel Clase is under investigation for a gambling scandal and may never pitch in the majors again.

The Guards don’t usually have tons of money to throw around but have been busy augmenting their bullpen with minor moves. They have signed Colin Holderman and Connor Brogdon to big league deals. They acquired Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays and selected Peyton Pallette from the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft. Those new arms will add to a group which includes incumbents Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and others.

Photo courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/guardians-to-sign-shawn-armstrong.html
 
Guardians Sign Stuart Fairchild To Minor League Deal

The Guardians announced this afternoon that they’ve signed outfielder Stuart Fairchild to a minor league deal. The deal includes a non-roster invite to MLB Spring Training.

Fairchild, 30 in March, was a second-round pick by the Reds back in 2017. He was traded to Arizona as part of the Archie Bradley deal back at the 2020 trade deadline and made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2021, but made his way back to Cincinnati (after brief pit stops in Seattle and San Francisco) by the end of the 2022. He’d spend the next few years in the Reds’ outfield mix and ultimately appeared in 223 games across parts of three seasons.

The outfielder hit fairly well during his time in Cincinnati, with a .232/.316/.403 slash line that was good for a 94 wRC+ overall. He split time between all three outfield spots with the Reds and managed to go a respectable 23-for-29 on the base paths during his time in the organization. While his overall production was slightly below league average, his ability to handle center field and swipe bases was valuable enough to keep him on the roster in a part-time role. Fairchild’s main draw was his ability to hit left-handed pitching as his .256/.354/.424 (114 wRC+) slash line against southpaws made him a solid complement to the team’s lefty outfield bats like Jake Fraley and Will Benson.

Headed into the 2025 season, however, the Reds lacked a clear path to a roster spot for Fairchild following the club’s acquisition of Austin Hays as well as the decision to move Spencer Steer into the outfield. With those righty bats in the club’s outfield plans, Fairchild became expendable and was designated for assignment. With a need for additional outfield depth while Ronald Acuna Jr. was on the injured list, the Braves traded for him not long afterwards. Between Acuna’s injury rehab and the early-season suspension of Jurickson Profar, there was plenty of playing time to be had in the Atlanta outfield mix. Fairchild took on some of that load, ultimately appearing in 28 games for the club where he hit a paltry .216/.273/.333 with a 27.3% strikeout rate across 55 plate appearances.

A dislocated pinkie finger cost Fairchild around a month of the 2025 season, and between that injury and poor performance when healthy he found himself DFA’d by Atlanta back in July. He was scooped up by the Rays in a minor trade but did not make an appearance for the MLB club before being designated for assignment once again at the outset of the offseason. He cleared waivers successfully and elected free agency, leading to the Guardians being able to add him on this non-roster pact.

For Cleveland, Fairchild’s addition means they’ve found a decent right-handed depth option for an outfield that lost Lane Thomas to the Royals in free agency this year. The Guardians have a heavily left-handed outfield mix as things stand, with Steven Kwan in left field, Chase DeLauter in center, and George Valera in right. Johnathon Rodriguez and Angel Martinez should serve as decent right-handed complements, but Fairchild offers some additional depth behind that group and protection against the possibility that the Guardians, whose 87 wRC+ in the outfield ranked 26th in the majors last year, don’t make a more significant addition on the grass.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/guardians-sign-stuart-fairchild-to-minor-league-deal.html
 
Guardians Designate Justin Bruihl For Assignment

The Guardians have designated left-hander Justin Bruihl for assignment, the team announced. Bruihl’s removal from the 40-man roster opened up a spot for right-hander Shawn Armstrong, who was signed earlier this week.

Cleveland acquired Bruihl for cash considerations on Wednesday after Toronto designated him for assignment. The Blue Jays were also making room for a reliever addition, designating Bruihl as the corresponding move after signing Tyler Rogers.

Bruihl joined the Blue Jays as a minor league free agent in March. He put together 42 solid innings at Triple-A, earning a promotion to the big-league club. The 28-year-old lefty made 15 appearances with Toronto, recording a 5.27 ERA over 13 2/3 innings. Bruihl punched out 27.7% of the hitters he faced, though it came with a 10.8% walk rate. The brief stint was enough to earn Bruihl a postseason roster spot. He made one appearance in the ALDS, getting knocked around for a couple of runs on three hits while securing just one out. Bruihl was not on the postseason roster following the series against the Yankees.

Bruihl has pitched in parts of five MLB seasons for four teams. He’s put together a 4.72 ERA across 94 appearances. The lefty debuted with the Dodgers in 2021. He maintained a semi-regular role in the bullpen over the next three seasons. Bruihl was dealt to Colorado in August 2023. He had brief stints with the Rockies and Pirates before landing in Toronto.

The Blue Jays made a notable arsenal change, having Bruihl emphasize his sinker instead of his cutter. He’d typically prioritized a cut fastball, though he did lean on his sweeper as his primary pitch in his time with Pittsburgh. Bruihl had never used the sinker more than 31.7% of the time in the big leagues heading into 2025. He pushed it to 51.1% this past season, while basically scrapping the cutter (7.3% usage). Sinker/sweeper isn’t a typical swing-and-miss combo, so it’s interesting that Bruihl posted the best strikeout numbers of his career. Toronto may have unlocked something in terms of sequencing or location, in addition to the arsenal adjustment, that led to better strikeout results.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/guardians-designate-justin-bruihl-for-assignment.html
 
Guardians Seeking Right-Handed Hitting Outfielder

So far this offseason, the Guardians have focused on the bullpen by signing free agents Shawn Armstrong, Connor Brogdon, and Colin Holderman. On the offensive side, the only move of significance thus far has been re-signing catcher Austin Hedges. Going forward, the club may look to add a right-handed hitting outfielder, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. who adds that Cleveland was interested in a reunion with Lane Thomas before he signed with the Royals.

In 2025, the Guardians outfield was led by left-fielder Steven Kwan, who batted .272/.330/.374 with a 99 wRC+ with exceptional defense, including 22 Defensive Runs Saved. That was good for 3.2 WAR according to FanGraphs, but unfortunately for Cleveland, Kwan was the only solid performer among the team’s outfielders, with the rest posting replacement-level numbers on offense. Nolan Jones and Angel Martinez made 384 and 371 plate appearances, respectively, but both only posted a 73 wRC+ and got on base less than 30% of the time. Meanwhile, Kwan and Jones are both left-handed hitters, while Martinez is a switch-hitter who does better from the right side. He posted a 123 wRC+ in 169 PA when facing southpaws this year, compared to just a 48 wRC+ in 315 PA as a lefty facing right-handed pitchers.

At present, nearly every outfielder on the club’s 40-man roster bats from the left side. Apart from the switch-hitting Martinez, the only righty in the group is Johnathan Rodriguez, who batted .197/.260/.366 with a 74 wRC+ in a limited sample of 77 PA this year. He was ranked by MLB.com as the organization’s No. 18 prospect entering 2024 and has upside as a power hitter. He has one option year remaining, so the club may keep him around to see if he can carve out a larger role (or shuffle him to the minors if he can’t).

Still, the club received almost no production from right-handed hitting outfielders in 2025. Out of Martinez, Rodriguez, Thomas, and Jhonkensy Noel, only Martinez’s 123 wRC+ from the right side was above-average. Thomas posted a 48 wRC+ in 142 PA this year and missed significant time with three trips to the injured list. He now plays for the Royals. Noel was even worse with a 28 wRC+ in 153 PA. He struck out 34.0% of the time and walked at a mere 2.6% rate while spending most of the second half in the minors. Cleveland designated him for assignment last week.

As noted by Rosenthal, the club may want to give time to their younger outfielders. Chase DeLauter is the organization’s top outfield prospect and the league’s No. 58 prospect overall, according to MLB.com. He made his debut during the Wild Card Series against the Tigers and will play a larger role in 2026. DeLauter is a left-handed hitter, though, so while he may boost the team’s overall production, he wouldn’t help with the team’s pitfalls from the right side. Three outfield prospects on the Guardian’s Top 30 list – Jaison Chourio, Alfonsin Rosario, and Aaron Walton – are righty or switch-hitters, but they won’t be ready for a few years. The Guardians may simply roll the dice again with their current crop of outfielders, but barring a turnaround from Rodriguez (or more time as a righty hitter for Martinez), that doesn’t leave much room for optimism.

Unsurprisingly, the club may be limited in its options due to payroll considerations. RosterResource estimates their 2026 payroll at $79MM, compared to $102MM in 2025. After winning the AL Central but falling in the first round of the playoffs, the club surely wants to make improvements, though it won’t be a player in the top tier of the market. Harrison Bader is the top righty-hitting option, though he is projected for a two-year, $26MM deal that could be out of Cleveland’s price range. Other free agent options include Miguel Andujar, who had a 125 wRC+ in 341 PA in 2025, as well as Austin Hays and Rob Refsnyder.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/guardians-seeking-right-handed-hitting-outfielder.html
 
Guardians, Codi Heuer Agree To Minor League Deal

The Guardians are in agreement with reliever Codi Heuer on a minor league contract, according to the MLB.com transaction log. The righty will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Heuer resurfaced in the majors this year for the first time since 2021. The righty was on a minor league deal with Texas that got selected onto the MLB roster in June. He pitched once before being optioned back to Triple-A. That was his only appearance with the Rangers, but they managed to find a taker for him at the trade deadline. They flipped him to the Tigers for cash. Heuer made two appearances with Detroit before being released in September.

The 29-year-old pitched 4 2/3 innings of three-run ball overall. He struck out five while walking two batters. The former sixth-round pick pitched quite well in Triple-A. Heuer combined for a 3.14 earned run average while striking out more than 30% of batters faced across 48 2/3 frames. He kept the ball on the ground at a 48.3% clip with a league average 8.4% walk rate.

Heuer looked like a potential high-leverage bullpen piece early in his career with the White Sox. He posted a 1.52 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate while sitting around 98 MPH during his 2020 rookie season. His stuff backed up the following year, especially after he was dealt to the Cubs at the ’21 deadline. That was a precursor to a series of significant elbow injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022, then broke his elbow while rehabbing in June ’23. He made all of 15 minor league appearances between 2022-24.

A healthy ’25 season itself counts as a major achievement given that history. Heuer’s stuff unsurprisingly wasn’t as electric as it’d been before the injuries. His fastball was in the 94-95 MPH range and he averaged around 84 MPH on his slider, four ticks below where it had once sat. Heuer nevertheless showed he’s capable of succeeding against Triple-A competition, so he’s a sensible addition for a Cleveland team attacking the bullpen with depth signings.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/guardians-codi-heuer-agree-to-minor-league-deal.html
 
Players In DFA Limbo

When a team designates a player for assignment, he is removed from that club’s 40-man roster. The team then has a period of time with some ability to impact what is next for that player. This is colloquially referred to as “DFA limbo”.

The team can trade the player to another club, unless the trade deadline has passed and the new offseason has not yet begun. The team can also place the player on outright or release waivers. This limbo period can last as long as seven days. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the team has a maximum of five days to work out a trade.

Or at least that’s the case for most of the year. It’s different around the holidays, with several instances in recent years of players being in DFA limbo for longer than two weeks. For instance, catcher Sam Huff was designated for assignment by the Rangers on December 23rd of 2024. He stayed in DFA limbo until he was claimed off waivers by the Giants on January 8th of 2025, 16 days later.

There has never been an official announcement made about what the rules are but it’s clear there’s some sort of freeze on the DFA clock around the holidays in late December and early January.

In this morning’s edition of The Opener, MLBTR mentioned two players who had been designated for assignment on December 17th, expecting those situations to be resolved today. There have been no updates as of the publication of this post. It’s possible the situations have been resolved but just haven’t been reported publicly because of media/communications people taking time off for the holidays. It’s also possible that those players have had their DFA clocks frozen and will remain in limbo into January.

Below is a list of players who have been designated for assignment in the past week without resolution, listed chronologically.

December 17th


December 19th


December 20th


December 22nd


December 23rd


Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/players-in-dfa-limbo.html
 
Guardians To Sign Pedro Avila

The Guardians are in agreement with right-hander Pedro Avila on a one-year, split contract, according to Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. The deal is a split contract, though the exact salary figures he’ll make in the majors and minors are not yet known.

Avila, 29 next month, was designated for assignment by the Guardians less than a year ago. He caught on with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball not long after that, and went on to make 15 appearances for the Swallows in Central League play. Avila posted the results of a back-end starter in those outings, with a 4.04 ERA in 82 1/3 innings of work. While he struck out just 17.8% of his opponents, he generated a solid 43.9% ground ball rate and held opponents to an 8.7% walk rate. None of those numbers jump off the page on their own, but an impressive ability to limit home runs and hard contact allowed Avila to post a 3.09 FIP with a 3.38 xFIP during his time overseas.

Now that he’s returning stateside, Avila will get the opportunity to establish himself at the big league level. The righty signed with the Nationals out of Venezuela as an amateur back in 2015, but came up primarily through the Padres’ system and made his big league debut in San Diego back in 2019. He spent most of his career with the Padres, but didn’t get a significant look at the big league level until 2023, when he pitched to a solid 3.22 ERA with a 3.67 FIP in 50 1/3 innings of work as a swing man for San Diego. A rough start to the 2024 campaign saw the Padres cut Avila loose, however, and he was acquired by the Guardians in the middle of April 2024 as part of a minor trade.

Upon arriving in Cleveland, Avila served as a solid long relief option. The right-hander soaked up 74 2/3 innings of work across just 50 appearances with a 23.0% strikeout rate against a 9.4% walk rate. All told, his work in Cleveland was good for a 3.25 ERA and 3.76 FIP, and both those figures landed a solid amount above league average. That seemed likely to make Avila an easy choice to keep in the fold for 2025, but the Guardians made the surprising call to cut him loose last winter. Perhaps that was in part due to the fact that Avila was out of options, and as a result would have to be exposed to waivers in order to option him to the minor leagues.

This split contract offers a potential avenue towards using Avila as an up-and-down player this year despite his lack of options. By guaranteeing the right-hander a salary above the minor league rate and a larger sum of money for time in the majors, the Guardians make Avila a somewhat less attractive possible waiver claim for rival clubs. That should make Avila more likely to clear waivers if passed through, while also making Avila less likely to elect free agency if he successfully clears waivers. That’s because the right-hander would have to leave his guaranteed money with the Guardians on the table in order to depart via minor league free agency, something the righty is unlikely to be inclined towards doing. In other words, the split nature of the contract affords Avila a 40-man roster spot and a more significant salary than he otherwise would have made in both the major and minor leagues, while for the Guardians it creates additional roster flexibility that should be valuable to a club with a deep bullpen that lacks many candidates to be optioned.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/guardians-to-sign-pedro-avila.html
 
Interesting batch of moves here. The Guardians are clearly going the depth route with the bullpen this offseason - Armstrong, Brogdon, Holderman, Heuer, and now Avila back in the fold. Can't say I blame them given the payroll constraints, but it does feel like they're just hoping a few of these arms stick rather than making a splash.

The Avila re-signing is a bit curious given they DFA'd him less than a year ago. His numbers in Japan weren't spectacular but that ability to limit hard contact is valuable. The split contract angle makes sense from a roster flexibility standpoint - clever way to work around the options situation.

As for the outfield search, losing out on Lane Thomas to KC stings a bit. The right-handed bat need is glaring when you look at those numbers. Martinez hitting .123 wRC+ from the right side against lefties while posting a 48 wRC+ as a lefty... that's a pretty clear platoon candidate if they can find the right partner.

Harrison Bader at $26MM feels like a reach for Cleveland's budget. Andujar could be interesting - that 125 wRC+ in 341 PA is solid production and he'd likely come cheaper. Hays has the injury concerns but the upside is there.

Feels like they're banking heavily on DeLauter contributing right away while hoping someone like Rodriguez figures it out. That's a lot of hope for a team that just won the division.
 
Orioles Claim Jhonkensy Noel, Designate George Soriano For Assignment

The Orioles have claimed outfielder Jhonkensy Noel from the Guardians, according to announcements from both clubs. Noel was designated for assignment last month. To open a spot for Noel, the O’s designated right-hander George Soriano for assignment.

Noel, 24, changes organizations for the first time. The Guards signed him as an international amateur back in 2017 and he has been part of that system until today. Over the past two years, he has shown some big power ability but also a poor approach. In 351 big league plate appearances, he has 19 home runs but his 4.8% walk rate and 32.8% strikeout rate are both awful figures. That’s led to a lopsided .193/.242/.401 slash line thus far.

He exhausted his final option season in 2025, which pushed him off Cleveland’s roster. He was designated for assignment December 17th when Cleveland acquired Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays. DFA limbo is normally capped at one week but there are clearly different rules around the holidays, as “Big Christmas” just spent close to three weeks in that liminal space.

The O’s have grabbed him today, though Noel won’t have a great path to playing time. Baltimore has a fairly crowded group for their outfield corners, as well as the first base and designated hitter spots. Pete Alonso should be the regular at first, with Coby Mayo and Ryan Mountcastle also in the mix there. Those guys could spill over into the DH slot, though the O’s might also want at-bats for their catching tandem of Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo. The outfield group includes Colton Cowser, Taylor Ward, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Beavers, Leody Taveras, Heston Kjerstad and others.

Alonso, Mayo, Mountcastle, Ward and O’Neill are all right-handed power bats. The same is true of Noel, though he has a lesser track record of major league success than everyone in that group. The O’s tend to be very aggressive at claiming players off waivers and then putting them back on the wire later, hoping to keep them as non-roster depth. It’s possible that is the plan here, as Noel currently faces a steep path to a big league role.

His numbers in the minors are more encouraging than his major league work. Over the past two years, he has stepped to the plate 536 times at the Triple-A level with 30 home runs. His 7.5% walk rate and 23.7% strikeout rate were still not amazing but much better than his big league work. His .285/.349/.538 line in that sample translates to a 130 wRC+.

Being out of options will make it challenging for him to carve out a lengthy amount of big league playing time. But if he gets a chance and runs with it, he can be affordably controlled for years to come. His service time clock is at one year and 29 days, meaning he is still five years from free agency and two years from qualifying for arbitration.

Soriano, 27 in March, has never pitched for Baltimore. He spent his entire career with the Marlins until the Orioles grabbed him off waivers in early November. Over the past three years, he tossed 118 innings for Miami, allowing 5.95 earned runs per nine. He struck out 22% of batters faced and gave out walks at a 10.3% clip.

Like Noel, Soriano exhausted his final option season in 2025 and got pushed to the waiver wire. As mentioned, the O’s like to make claims and then try to pass guys through waivers later to keep them as non-roster depth. Soriano flashed some intriguing potential in Triple-A last year, tossing 42 2/3 innings with a 2.32 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 55.7% ground ball rate.

His service time clock is at 1.095, so he also has years of potential cheap control. That could entice another club to acquire him but the O’s would surely be happy if they can get him through waivers and hang onto him in a non-roster capacity.

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026...-designate-george-soriano-for-assignment.html
 
Cardinals Acquire Justin Bruihl, Designate Zak Kent For Assignment

The Cardinals have acquired left-hander Justin Bruihl from the Guardians in exchange for cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs. Bruihl had been designated for assignment by Cleveland last month. Right-hander Zak Kent has been designated for assignment by the Cards today in a corresponding 40-man roster move.

It’s the second cash deal of the winter for Bruihl, who will turn 29 in June. The lefty began the offseason with the Blue Jays but was bumped off the roster when Toronto signed right-hander Tyler Rogers last month. The Guardians sent some cash north of the order to grab Bruihl but then designated him for assignment three days later when they signed Shawn Armstrong. DFA limbo normally lasts a maximum of one week but there are different rules around the holidays, so Bruihl was hanging out there for almost three weeks.

He now finally has some resolution and it could be a good spot for him to carve out some big league playing time. Bruihl posted good numbers in 2025 but exhausted his final option season, which pushed him to the fringes of Toronto’s roster. The Jays have been busy upgrading their pitching staff for another run at competing in 2026 and bumped Bruihl off. Cleveland had one of the best bullpens in the league last year and was also going to have a tough time keeping the southpaw around for long.

But the Cardinals are rebuilding and should therefore have a bit more breathability in their relief group. JoJo Romero is currently the top lefty in their projected bullpen but he is one year away from free agency, making him likely to be traded in the coming weeks. If Romero is dealt, that would leave Bruihl and Nick Raquet as the two lefty relievers on the St. Louis 40-man roster. Raquet was called up late in the 2025 season and has just two big league innings under his belt.

Bruihl has thrown 89 2/3 innings over multiple seasons between the Dodgers, Rockies and Blue Jays. Toronto only let him throw 13 2/3 big league innings in 2025 but he fared decently, despite posting a 5.27 earned run average. His 10.8% walk rate was a bit high in that small sample but his 27.7% strikeout rate and 46.2% ground ball rate were both a few ticks better than average. He also logged 42 Triple-A innings last year with a 3.43 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 58.4% ground ball rate.

The Cards could perhaps sign some veterans before Opening Day but it’s a decent landing spot for Bruihl to get some more time in the majors. If he succeeds with the Cardinals in 2026, they could keep the relationship going. He currently has one year and 112 days of service time, meaning he’s five years away from free agency. He would also be affordable for the rebuilding club, as he is still in his pre-arbitration years.

Kent, 28 in February, has never pitched for the Cardinals. He was just claimed off waivers from the Guardians a month ago. He made his major league debut with the Guards last year, posting a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. His 21.1% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate and 37.3% ground ball rate were all a bit worse than league average.

He does have some interesting minor league numbers. He tossed 38 Triple-A innings last year with a 2.84 ERA. He got grounders on 54% of balls in play at that level and struck out 31.4% of batters faced, though he also gave out walks at a high clip of 13.2%.

Like Bruihl, Kent is out of options, though Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported last month that he is eligible for a fourth option year. Perhaps that will help him latch on somewhere else. The Cards will now have seven days of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for Kent. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they will have a maximum of five days to field trade interest.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026...bruihl-designate-zak-kent-for-assignment.html
 
Guardians Re-Sign Dom Nuñez To Minor League Deal

The Guardians announced Wednesday that they’ve re-signed catcher Dom Nuñez to a minor league contract. The ALIGND Sports client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Nuñez, 31 later this month, has spent the past two seasons with the Guardians, mostly with their Triple-A affiliate. He briefly appeared in majors in 2025, going 2-for-7 with a pair of singles in two games, but has taken 561 plate appearances and caught nearly 900 innings with their Columbus club dating back to 2024. He became a free agent after the season when Cleveland passed him through outright waivers.

Originally a sixth-round pick by the Rockies back in 2013, Nuñez has appeared in parts of four big league seasons but owns just a .182/.280/.371 slash (58 wRC+) in 354 trips to the plate. He hasn’t hit much in five Triple-A seasons either (.206/.333/.383, 27.6% strikeout rate) but has shown a knack for drawing walks and has some pop in his bat when he does make contact.

Nuñez, however, has a sound defensive reputation. He’s posted solid framing and blocking marks in the minors and majors alike, and he’s nabbed a strong 29% of would-be thieves on the bases in his minor league career. Cleveland clearly places immense value on catcher defense — hence the team’s repeated re-signings of Austin Hedges — and Nuñez will give them a quality defender to plug into the depth chart in the upper minors.

On the big league side of things, Hedges will reprise his role as backup to Bo Naylor (another plus defender with a light bat), but that pair increasingly looks like a placeholder for top prospect Cooper Ingle. The 23-year-old Ingle hit .260/.389/.419 with more walks than strikeouts in 510 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A last year. Ingle played only 28 games in Triple-A last season, so the Guards seem likely to send the 2023 fourth-rounder back to Columbus for a bit more seasoning, but a debut in 2026 seems likely as long as he stays healthy.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/guardians-re-sign-dom-nunez-to-minor-league-deal-2.html
 
How Will The Guardians’ Middle Infield Play Out?

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. Adding a complementary right-handed outfield bat would make sense with Lane Thomas departing via free agency.

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 Incumbents

Of the five players who logged any middle infield action for Stephen Vogt’s club last year, only Will Wilson is off the roster. Last year’s middle infield usually involved a three-player rotation: Gabriel Arias mostly at shortstop, Daniel Schneemann in a multi-position role with a lot of second base work, and Brayan Rocchio bouncing between the up-the-middle spots.

Angel Martínez also started 25 games at second base but was more frequently used in center field. The Guardians could push him back into a utility role this year depending on their outfield performance. Chase DeLauter made the ALDS roster and should be ticketed for his regular season MLB debut on Opening Day. They could add a center fielder in free agency. Harrison Bader would be an excellent fit but might be out of their price range. Even if that’s the case, taking a buy-low flier on Chas McCormick as a fourth outfielder makes sense.

None of Arias, Rocchio, Schneemann or Martínez contributed much offensively. By measure of wRC+, they were all between 21 and 26 points below league average. Rocchio led the pack with a subpar .233 batting average and .290 on-base percentage. He hit five home runs in 115 games. Schneemann, Martínez and Arias each had 11 or 12 longballs.

The season trend lines were most favorable to Rocchio. He was at least within range of league average in the second half, batting .257/.313/.376 over his final 241 plate appearances. Arias (.203/.247/.356), Schneemann (.194/.268/.309), and Martínez (.207/.283/.313) all had terrible numbers after the All-Star Break. Arias and Rocchio were the starters in the postseason, though Vogt was quick to hit for Arias and use Schneemann off the bench.

Rocchio is probably on the strongest ground of the group, yet he remains a .222/.293/.327 hitter in more than 900 career plate appearances. He turns 25 tomorrow and is out of minor league options. He’ll break camp but shouldn’t be a lock to remain on the roster all season if he doesn’t build off the second half promise. Public metrics have been divided on his defense, grading him highly in 2024 but looking less favorably on last year’s work.

Arias, 26 in February, is also out of options. He has huge physical tools: plus bat speed and raw power, a solid glove, and an excellent arm. That’s undercut by an untenable approach. Arias chases tons of pitches off the plate and too frequently gets beat within the strike zone. He had the fourth-highest strikeout rate among hitters with 300+ plate appearances. No one missed more often on a per-pitch basis. Aside from occasionally running into a fastball for a homer, he’s not going to provide any offense.

Schneemann is a utility player who is a couple weeks away from his 29th birthday. He’ll work some walks and pop a few home runs against right-handed pitching, but there’s also too much swing-and-miss in his game to be a regular. He’s a .210/.290/.358 hitter with 17 homers and a 29% strikeout rate in 643 career plate appearances. Schneemann has a full slate of minor league options and could therefore be the first one sent down if/when the Guardians bring up a higher-upside player from the minor leagues.

The Prospects

Guards fans have eagerly awaited the arrival of second baseman Travis Bazzana since the club announced his selection with the top pick in the ’24 draft. It has become increasingly common for top college draftees to get to the big leagues before the end of their first full professional season. Bazzana didn’t move that quickly, at least in part because of recurring oblique issues. The Oregon State product had decent numbers between the top two minor league levels (.245/.389/.424 including seven rehab games in the Complex League), but he was limited to 84 games by a pair of IL stints.

Bazzana will be one of the most important players to watch in Spring Training. He remains one of the better offensive talents in the minors. He has 26 games of Triple-A experience. The Guardians could justify sending him back there to begin the season but should leave the door open to him breaking camp. Bazzana’s minor league approach probably tipped over the line from patient to passive, leading both to a ton of walks (17.6%) and a decent amount of strikeouts (24.3%). He’s not a finished product, but there’s a good chance he’s already a better hitter than Arias or Schneemann would be.

Vogt said at the Winter Meetings that Rocchio would get a lot of shortstop work during Spring Training (link via Zack Meisel of The Athletic). That’d leave the door open for Bazzana at second with Arias and/or Schneemann in a utility role. It also magnifies camp’s importance for 24-year-old second base prospect Juan Brito.

Brito has held a spot on the 40-man roster for three years but has yet to make his MLB debut. He would have gotten that opportunity last year but for thumb and hamstring injuries that both required surgery. He was limited to 24 Triple-A contests. The Guardians were granted a fourth option year, so they’re not forced to carry Brito on the MLB roster.

If they give the Opening Day second base job to Bazzana, Brito probably needs an injury or the more highly-regarded prospect to struggle in order to find his way into the lineup. He’s not a great athlete and unlikely to be all that effective as a multi-positional defender. Yet Brito has hit throughout his career, posting an OPS above .800 at every stop. That includes a .255/.366/.442 mark across nearly 800 Triple-A plate appearances over parts of three seasons. That’s an appealing profile for a lineup that had far too many wasted at-bats.

Shortstop prospect Angel Genao is the only other middle infielder on the 40-man roster. He’s a 21-year-old who has yet to play a Triple-A game. Genao is coming off a solid but unspectacular .259/.323/.359 showing over 77 Double-A contests. Scouting reports peg him as a potential everyday player, but he remains a work in progress on both sides of the ball. While he’ll hopefully be an upgrade over Rocchio and Arias down the line, there’s little to no chance that he’s on the Opening Day roster. A second half debut is plausible but not guaranteed.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/how-will-the-guardians-middle-infield-play-out.html
 
Guardians Sign Carter Kieboom To Minor League Deal

The Guardians announced Tuesday that they’ve signed former top prospect Carter Kieboom to a minor league contract. The ACES client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Now 28 years old, Kieboom was a first-round pick by the Nationals back in 2016 and has previously ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects. He never made good on that billing in parts of four seasons with Washington, however, slashing just .199/.297/.301 in 508 major league plate appearances. He spent the 2025 season with the Angels after signing as a minor league free agent. Kieboom batted .319/.368/.449 in an extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting and went 2-for-8 with a pair of singles in three games with the major league club. The Angels outrighted him following the season.

Kieboom has played third base and shortstop extensively in pro ball, logging more than 2100 innings at each position. He’s also played nearly 600 innings at second base. At the height of his prospect status, Kieboom was regarded as a safe bet to hit thanks to good pitch recognition, strong plate discipline and a quality all-fields approach at the plate. That hasn’t played out in the majors, but he’s a career .288/.380/.439 hitter in 1597 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Cleveland is set at third base with Jose Ramirez and has one of the top prospects in baseball, 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana, likely to make his debut at second base this coming season. Kieboom is presumably viewed as a bench/depth option with a tinge of upside remaining who could compete for a role in which he backs up multiple positions. If he doesn’t make the club, he’ll head to Triple-A Columbus as a depth piece.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/guardians-sign-carter-kieboom-to-minor-league-deal.html
 
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