A lot is changing.
The snow has finally fallen. The seats at Progressive Field are being altered to a Navy Blue instead of the long-standing Forest Green. Tito's office is no longer Tito's office, as it now belongs to the new guy, Stephen Vogt .
In quite a few other ways, some things never seem to change.
The Guardians won't be players for the top free agents on the market, instead having to rely on savvy scouting and smarter, smaller additions. They have the option, once again, of dealing from their starting rotation in part because of to their ability to delve into their top-tier pitching development. And they're still searching for any form of clarity in the outfield, which has become a constant with baseball in Cleveland in recent memory.
Guardians offseason 2024: No Tito, the Shane Bieber dilemma, questions in the outfield
The Guardians have already made a few moves to re-tool and re-position the major league roster , including the addition of reliever Scott Barlow and the return of catcher Austin Hedges . And they received a nice stocking stuffer by being awarded the No. 1 pick in next year's draft despite having just a 2 percent chance to do so in the lottery.
But as the holiday season churns on, here is what's on the Guardians' wish list this year.
The Guardians are facing a dilemma when it comes to Shane Bieber's situation with the team .
Bieber is under club control for only one more season, as he's in his final year of arbitration eligibility. Normally, it'd make him a sure-fire trade candidate, as the Guardians can ill afford to simply let a former Cy Young Award winner walk away into free agency.
But they also can't simply sell low just for the sake of trading him.
Yes, Bieber won the 2020 Cy Young Award. But that was a weird, truncated season. Teams looking to potentially trade for him won't put nearly as much stock into 2020 as they would 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Bieber has battled shoulder and arm issues for a sizable portion of the last three years, and he's worked around a dip in velocity since 2020. His health status is far from secure.
Top 10: Counting down the top 10 plays from Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan's Gold Glove seasons
And dealing Bieber, with Cal Quantrill already gone, would put a bit of strain on the starting rotation's depth. A Bieber trade means either a free agent, signee Ben Lively or one of the younger pitchers ( Xzavion Curry perhaps) would need to step into a larger workload of innings.
Holding onto Bieber for one more season is far from ideal. But dealing him without receiving a strong return is in the same boat.
Perhaps Bieber and the Guardians can finally agree to terms on an extension, but the two sides haven't been particularly close in the past.
The simplest solution is that a rival team decides that Bieber is worth top dollar in a trade, and the Guardians again reload using their starting rotation and pitching depth to either further restock the farm system or address other needs on the major league roster.
The Guardians have probably written so many letters to Santa asking him for consistent production in the outfield that ol' Saint Nick might not even open them anymore.
Myles Straw and Will Brennan have all had their moments, but they've both endured significant slumps in the process.
Lessons learned as sophomores: Guardians' Steven Kwan, Will Brennan went to school in 2023
Straw has a sizable contract but is likely better suited for a bench role that utilizes his defensive and base-running skills in a much more efficient way. Brennan just hasn't been able to put it together for a long enough stretch (outside of an unfortunate situation involving a bird).
Ramon Laureano has a role carved out as a right-handed hitter who can hit left-handed pitching. The Guardians will have a pretty sizable hole in the lineup to fill — or at least a question that needs to be answered — if Josh Naylor and prospect Kyle Manzardo do occupy the first base and designated hitter spots.
Here are the Guardians' ranks in wRC+ among outfield groups over the last five seasons, starting with 2019: 24th, 29th, 24th, 15th (but still below a 100 wRC+, which would be league average), 29th.
Some above-average run production from the outfield would be seen as a huge present with a big red bow on it.
Whoops, sorry. That one's on my own personal list. How'd that slip in there?
It's difficult to exactly quantify how the issues with Diamond Sports Group (meaning Bally Sports) are impacting MLB teams, but the impact is definitely there.
The Minnesota Twins won the American League Central last year and then promptly announced they'd be cutting their payroll. It's in part due to the Twins setting a franchise record with their payroll in 2023, but there's little doubt the uncertainty with funds coming from the regional sports networks is a big factor.
The Guardians aren't exempt from all of this. The latest update essentially boils down to this: Diamond owes the Guardians money, they say they're committed to paying the Guardians, but the Guardians don't know exactly when or how much it could be. The Twins and Texas Rangers are also involved in all of this.
Amazon Prime is now rumored to begin talks to become an investor in Diamond Sports Group, which could lead to Guardians games being shown on Amazon Prime Video's streaming platform.
At any rate, the Guardians and many other teams badly need a resolution to this mess.
This is mostly the team asking — pleading, really — Santa to allow Triston McKenzie's elbow to hold up for the entire year, allowing him to avoid any further procedures (namely Tommy John surgery).
In the last few instances in which the Guardians failed to reach the postseason, starting pitcher injuries played a key role. Just about every team has to deal with injuries to the rotation at some point in a given season, which always puts added value on options No. 6, 7 and 8 in Triple-A. Plus, the Guardians will have at least three starters entering their first full seasons (and their first full workloads at the major league level) in 2024.
If there's one group the Guardians would love to envelop in bubble wrap, it's McKenzie, Gavin Williams , Tanner Bibee , Logan Allen and Co.
The Guardians did a total 180 from their last managerial hire in terms of previous experience, as Terry Francona will hand over the role to Vogt.
By the time Francona came to Cleveland, he was already a sure-fire, first-ballot Hall of Famer. Vogt has never managed a game. But one thing the Guardians loved about Vogt is that he had a similar humility, and a way to connect to everybody he talks to, similar to what Francona was often known for during his career as a manager.
Tito being Tito: Jokes, respect, support and baseball: Cleveland and the game itself will miss Tito
Francona is slated to remain in the organization in some fashion, and has said that although he doesn't want to be lurking over the new manager's shoulder, he's also always available for advice. Vogt not missing a beat after taking over for Francona would be a major positive for an organization with such a young roster.
This one's really just here for old time's sake after it became a favorite calling card of the fan base for so many years. A gift of nostalgia, if you will.
But any increase in right-handed power would be a welcomed addition for a lefty-heavy lineup that only figures to become lefty-er once prospects Manzardo, George Valera and Chase DeLauter eventually reach the big leagues.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians offseason wish list for the 2023 holiday season
