Braylon Doughty, the Guardians' top prospect (50 FV), finished his year in Double-A, and assistant GM Eric Binder praises his strike-throwing and underrated power. Joey Oakie, ranked 16th, is also 20 and a high-ceiling arm. Cleveland's arm factory keeps humming. ⚾
Non-tender season could offer Guardians some bargain options before the Nov. 20 deadline: Phillies lefty Tanner Banks, Cardinals infielder Nolan Gorman and Mark Vientos are floated as candidates. Banks' multi-inning profile stands out. 🔍
Welbyn Francisca, Cleveland's No. 19 prospect, hit his fourth Arizona Fall League homer and is batting .412 at age 20. Chase DeLauter is also an AL Silver Slugger finalist in right field. Francisca's bat is doing the talking. 💥
Steven Kwan trade chatter has gone quiet, with little reported buzz since the World Series ended. A likely Dec. 1 lockout could freeze any trade or extension talks, so Kwan's future may stay unresolved for a while. ⏳
Former Guardians outfielder Will Brennan is a free agent after a season on a Giants minor league deal. He went 2-for-23 in 11 MLB games, but hit .302 with 11 homers at Triple-A Sacramento, which could earn him a minor league deal with a spring invite.
The pitch-rigging trial for Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz opened this week. Prosecutors called them "cheaters," while the defense says they were set up. Former Guardians catcher Bo Naylor testified he saw nothing unusual in their pitches. ⚖️
Former Guardians outfielder Shelley Duncan is joining Chad Tracy's big league staff with the Red Sox. He hit 33 of his 43 career homers in Cleveland, then spent the past three seasons coaching the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate. ⚾
Former Guardians reliever Zak Kent was released by the Nationals after clearing waivers, setting up another busy offseason. He'll likely need a minor league deal, and a Cleveland reunion could make sense as bullpen depth. ✈️
The Reds named Guardians assistant pitching coach Joe Torres their new pitching coach, reuniting him with Terry Francona. He's the fourth Cleveland pitching coach poached by another club since 2019. The factory keeps getting shopped. Carl Willis remains. ⚾
Ex-Guardians catcher Bo Naylor, now with the Brewers, testified early as a defense witness in the Clase and Ortiz trial in Brooklyn. The reason: he's flying to Italy for his wedding this weekend. Pitching coach Carl Willis is also on the witness list.
José Ramírez won't threepeat as AL Silver Slugger. Caminero and Vargas are the third base finalists after a down year for Ramírez, whose OPS+ fell under 100 and who hit .229 after returning from a June hamate injury. The October surge helps, but only so much. 🥈
Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter is a first-time Silver Slugger finalist, per Louisville Slugger's Thursday announcement. Winners are revealed Nov. 17, with managers and coaches doing the voting. 🏆
Chase DeLauter is a Silver Slugger finalist in the outfield after 133 games in his first full Guardians season, and the argument is that Cleveland should push for a long-term extension now, before arbitration costs climb. 🔒
Covering the Corner: Guardians News: Not Much Going On
Former Guardians pitchers Matthew Boyd and Aaron Civale are now free agents from the Cubs. Boyd's solid Chicago run likely prices him out of Cleveland's range, while Civale would come cheap, though a reunion isn't necessarily likely. 🔄
Steven Kwan is one year from free agency after 2027, putting Cleveland at a familiar crossroads: extend, keep, or trade. Chris Antonetti says he expects Kwan to be a big part of a contending team next year. 🔍
MLB Trade Rumors' top-50 free agent predictions barely include Cleveland. Anthony Franco projects only reliever Paul Blackburn, on a two-year, $15M deal. He'd fill the swingman role, but one arm won't make this a busy winter. 🧊
It’s a single-issue negotiation. MLB wants a cap, the players reject a cap. All of the details MLB has shared about its vision -- a number of which are good! -- are tied to the MLBPA accepting a cap system. Publicly, at least, the league has not put forth any vision of a non-capped league. The players, and again I’ll say this is based on what we know, appear to have no intention of accepting a payroll cap. Until one side or the other concedes on this point, there is nowhere for negotiations...
George Valera has elected minor league free agency, which may close his Guardians chapter. The former top prospect hit a Wild Card Series go-ahead homer in 2025, but he hit .216 in 13 games this year before a Triple-A stint with an .831 OPS.
Federal prosecutors called Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz "cheaters" in Brooklyn opening statements, alleging they sold pitch info to gamblers. Both pleaded not guilty, and defense attorneys rejected the allegations. ⚖️
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