Guardians starting to run out of time to find a meaningful right-handed bat

Jared Bloom

•
Guardians starting to run out of time to find a meaningful right-handed bat image

The Cleveland Guardians are coming off a solid 2025 season where they saw themselves crowned the AL Central champions. They have now won the division the last two seasons in a row and would like to complete the hat trick in 2026. 

However, they have not done much in terms of getting better over the offseason so far. They have only made a handful of deals, none being league-altering either. 

They also have to figure out what they are going to do without Emmanuel Clase next season. Clase is unlikely to pitch, given that he and Luis Ortiz were federally indicted for their roles in illegal sports gambling. 

MORE: Guardians' Steven Kwan gets $7.725 million contract update amid trade rumors

Guardians starting to run out of time to acquire a meaningful right-handed bat

One area of need that the Guardians should fill is their need for a right-handed-hitting outfielder. Luckily for them, several intriguing players could fit this role who are sitting on the open market. 

Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer makes the case for the club to take a look at Harrison Bader, Austin Hays, or Miguel Andujar. 

"The word from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic in December was that the Guardians are specifically looking for a right-handed-hitting outfielder. They still have options on the open market, including Harrison Bader, Austin Hays, and Miguel Andujar."

Bader is likely the one to lead this group, given the season he is coming off. Across 146 regular-season games, he hit.277/.347/.449 with a career-high 17 home runs and a career-high 54 runs batted in. 

Bader would be an immediate upgrade over what Cleveland put out in center field last season. However, the Philadelphia Phillies would love to have him back, and Cleveland could also face some competition from the Los Angeles Angels and New York Mets as well.

More MLB news:

Senior Editor