The Guardians won the American League Central for the third straight year and reached the doorstep of the World Series in 2026, but their season ended with a six-game loss to the Rays in the ALCS. With their championship hopes dashed again, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, general manager Mike Chernoff and assistant GM Matt Forman met with the media on Thursday to wrap up 2026 and discuss the upcoming offseason.
[RELATED: Guardians Offseason Outlook]
The Guardians aren’t at risk of losing outfielder Steven Kwan to free agency this winter, but the two-time All-Star only has one year of control left. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects an $11.3MM salary for Kwan in his third and final trip through arbitration. That’s an eminently reasonable salary for a player of his caliber, though it’s a pricey figure for a team that had the lowest payroll in baseball (around $75MM). The Guardians have a history of trading away productive veterans with dwindling team control, evidenced by deals in which they shipped out first baseman Josh Naylor, Francisco Lindor, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger. With that in mind, Kwan could be an offseason trade candidate. However, if we’re to believe Guardians brass, he isn’t going anywhere.
“As we sit here today, we’re expecting Steven Kwan to be a big part of a contending team next year,” Antonetti said (link via Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com).
Antonetti went on to laud the 29-year-old Kwan’s leadership and his ability to get off the mat after a brutal start. It was indeed a tale of two halves for Kwan, who entered July batting a lifeless .212/.318/.257 with one home run. The lefty-swinging contact specialist looked like a potential non-tender candidate at that point, but he went on a heater from then on and finished with a respectable .282/.382/.349 line and a personal-best 13.3% walk rate. He drew free passes at a clip 3.3% better than his career average and continued to avoid strikeouts at an elite level (9.7%). Kwan’s 1.37 BB/K ratio led all qualified hitters and helped him overcome a typical lack of power (three homers, .067 ISO) en route to a solidly above average wRC+ of 114.
Kwan, a four-time Gold Glove winner and 2026 finalist, also continued to excel in the outfield. Between center and left, he combined for 17 Defensive Runs Saved, 8 Outs Above Average and 7 Fielding Run Value. The overall package was worth 5.3 bWAR and 3.8 fWAR. The consistently productive Kwan has never finished below 3.0 in either of those categories during his five-year career.
While it currently looks as if Kwan will be in the Guardians’ Opening Day lineup in 2027, the team may have a different first baseman. Rhys Hoskins opened 2026 as their starter after signing a minor league deal last winter, but the 33-year-old is headed back to free agency on the heels of the worst season of his career. Nathaniel Lowe, whom the Guardians acquired from the Reds at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, wasn’t the solution either. He will join Hoskins on the open market. While Kyle Manzardo isn’t even eligible for arbitration yet, the former high-end prospect hasn’t offered much value since he debuted in 2024.
Hoskins, Lowe and Manzardo combined for minus-0.4 fWAR, the third-lowest total among first base groups in the majors. Their 92 wRC+ was fourth from the bottom. The Guardians are going to need more from the position in 2027, and Antonetti made it “abundantly clear” that big-hitting prospect Ralphy Velazquez will have a chance to earn a spot, according to Joe Noga of cleveland.com.
“Ralphy’s made himself an option for us to consider next year,” Antonetti said. “He put together really an extraordinary year.”
Velazquez, who ranks as MLB Pipeline’s 29th-best prospect, has held his own against minor league pitching since the Guards drafted him 23rd overall in 2023. As a 21-year-old this season, he advanced to Triple-A Columbus in mid-May and slashed a terrific .278/.363/.541 (133 wRC+) with 22 home runs and a 20.6% strikeout rate over an 85-game, 369-plate appearance span. Velazquez could emerge as the answer at first base in Cleveland as early as next year, though the team also wants him to continue getting work in the outfield.
Turning to the Guardians’ pitching staff, right-handed strikeout machine Gavin Williams, left-handed AL Rookie of the Year contender Parker Messick and righty Tanner Bibee (despite a lack of postseason use) are locks for rotation spots next year. Although he registered a high 11.8% walk rate, 26-year-old southpaw Joey Cantillo recorded a quality 3.62 ERA with decent underlying numbers over 33 appearances (30 starts) and 159 innings. He’ll also go into the spring as a starter, per Hoynes.
Meanwhile, the Guardians are still deciding how to proceed with Daniel Espino, Zach Meisel of The Athletic relays. A former well-regarded prospect, the 25-year-old made his major league debut in mid-June after missing almost all of 2022-25 with knee and shoulder problems. Espino didn’t go more than two innings in any of his 20 appearances between the regular season and playoffs, but the flamethrowing righty may be a candidate for next year’s rotation.
“There’s no clear answer,” Chernoff said regarding Espino’s role. “That’s the conversation we need to have internally with our group and with Daniel.”
Lefty Foster Griffin, a deadline acquisition from Washington, is the lone member of Cleveland’s rotation due to hit free agency. There is no word on whether the team is interested in re-signing the 31-year-old, but he is sure to outdo the $5.5MM he signed for last winter after coming back from a three-season run in Japan. If Griffin leaves, the Guardians may try to find a replacement from within (Espino, Slade Cecconi, Logan Allen, Austin Peterson and Yorman Gomez could be possibilities) or venture into free agency or the trade market.
Photo courtesy of Pablo Robles, Imagn Images
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