Uncustomed Heroes of 2025: Guardians

 

What the Guardians were able to do this season, despite the amount that was stacked against them fundamentally, was incredible. That Stephen Vogt got this team to the playoffs without Emmanuel Clase, Ben Lively, Lane Thomas and any sort of foothold on the AL Central all year is a monumental achievement. The Guardians won the division in a season that was the Tigers' to lose, and even if the Tigers still knocked them out, they bodied them in the regular season. With, again, only a few huge pieces and a lot of youth. It proves that this team has staying power, depth, and isn't just Jose Ramirez. I respect it. 

Like, Tanner Bibee was the ace this season and honestly he didn't really have the greatest season, cause I really don't think he's ace material. You'd come from Kluber, Carrasco, Bieber...and Bibee maybe is a good 2 guy, but this year he wasn't a great #1. Gavin Williams was a lot more impressive. But Bibee at least had some nice starts, finishing the season with 12 wins, a 4.24 ERA and 162 Ks. He still made all his starts and went deep into games, it just was a very okay season in that respect. Remember when everybody made all their starts and that would just happen occasionally?

2026 Prediction: Much better year, but maybe misses a tiny bit of time. Helps keep the ERA lower though.

Gabriel Arias was supposed to take most of the starts at 2nd this year in Andres Gimenez's absence, but ended up taking most of the starts at shortstop due to the absence of Brayan Rocchio's bat. Either way, he was somewhat impressive, with 11 homers and 54 RBIs in 129 games, even if the bat isn't the main takeaway with Arias.

2026 Prediction: Similar middle infield role, a little less fluid, a little more production.

With Bibee and Williams cementing themselves atop the rotation, Logan Allen, for the most part, settled in behind them. He was a little spottier, with a 4.25 ERA, 122 Ks and an 8-11 record, but he was consistent, durable and topped 150 innings. 

2026 Prediction: A firmer breakout, a 3 ERA and some ASG consideration.

Hunter Gaddis continued to prove that moving him to the bullpen was a very good idea, with a with a 3.11 ERA and 73 Ks in as many games. 

2026 Prediction: Continues at this pace, with an ERA closer to 2024's.

And Cade Smith really saved the Guardians' ass this year, jumping into the ninth after the Clase suspension and keeping the lights on. In 74 innings, Smith had 8 wins, a 2.93 ERA, 104 Ks, a 1.005 WHIP and 16 saves, far and away the best relief season in Cleveland this year.

2026 Prediction: 30+ saves, chasing the league lead. Emmanuel who?

The Guardians brought up two very good looking rookies later this year, and they were impressive enough to distract the fans from neither of them being named Travis Bazzana. C.J. Kayfus is a very highly ranked hitting prospect for Cleveland, and he debuted in August and displayed decent power numbers immediately, with 19 RBIs and 4 homers in 44 games. Kayfus will have to contend with Kyle Manzardo at 1st, but Kayfus is slightly better defensively.

2026 Prediction: 30 homers, ROY votes.

And then Chase DeLauter, an organizational cornerstone, was brought up specifically for the AL Wild Card series against the Tigers, which was a very big deal. It's always wild when guys debut immediately in a playoff game, and DeLauter's hard-pounding work in Columbus was enough to make him a cool inclusion in October. In 2 games he did manage a major league hit, one that doesn't even technically count cause it's not in the regular season, and proved himself even in a losing season.

2026 Prediction: He's not gonna make the Opening Day roster. But he is gonna be a big part of the playoff push next year.

Coming Tomorrow- A few extras from a Mariners team that came within inches of their first World Series. 

Not That Logan Allen

 

Last year, the Guardians had two Oscars that filled similar roles. This year, it's Logan Allens.

In 2019, as part of the massive trade that brought Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati and Yasiel Puig to Cleveland that we all thought would have deeper ramifications than it actually did, the Padres sent a rookie left-handed pitcher named Logan Allen to the Guardians. He didn't get much use in the 2019 season, or even the 2020 season, but started 11 games in 2021 and was seen as a lower-tier but still useful pitching piece. Eventually the Guardians built their rotation out of people that were not Allen, he was waived and then has bounced around the minors ever since.

But while this Logan Allen was sitting in the back of the 2020 Guardians' pitching depth, the team drafted another left-handed pitcher, who also happened to be named Logan Allen. And a year after the first Logan Allen was cut loose from the Guardians, this second Logan Allen was brought up to start games. And folks, I think we've found the superior Logan Allen.

Allen has, like his fellow rookie Guardians pitchers, had an excellent come-up period and has slid right into a pivotal spot, in between Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams. Allen's 7-7, but has 113 strikeouts, a 3.68 ERA and a 1.6 WAR in his first 22 starts. The fact that these three guys have hit the ground running this season and been consistent despite their inexperience and the team's struggles has been the biggest saving grace of this underwhelming Guardians season. The combination of the team not hitting and the rotation getting banged up made for a sorry follow-up to 2022, but having the rotation this strong does make the team look a lot better even as they head towards a sub-.500 finish. 

What may have hampered things a bit has been the arrival of Lucas Giolito in place of Noah Syndergaard. It's kinda wild that anyone could make late-career Thor look good, but Giolito cannot keep it together, and has gotten absolutely lit up in both of his Guardians starts. It does narrow things down as to who gets to come back next year, but it's not really helping the legitimacy of the rotation sans Bieber. I'm saying they were better off with Syndergaard, honestly, even if having Matt Moore is kinda nice I guess.

Next year, a rotation of Bieber-Bibee-Allen-Williams-McKenzie does sound pretty damn good, even though there may be some seniority defaults if Plesac and Quantrill stick around. And if the rest of the team can start hitting that might lead to a more exciting AL Central race than what we had this year. It can't just be Naylor and Ramirez, it has to be everybody, and figuring out how to get everybody on the same page should be the top offseason priority. It should be easy to get the team back to the contact hitting it was doing in 2022, I just wish it wasn't this vexing for them.

Coming Tomorrow- He began the season in the bullpen but eventually got to start games, which has been universally regarded as a great decision.

Top 10 Trade Deadline Deals of 2019

So...last night I told everyone to bring it, and...uh...they brought it.

A lot of players went in a span of 24 hours, turning this into a wild, live trade deadline after seeming positively dead for several days. I do think it was ironic that things didn't hit fever pitch until I landed in Cooperstown, NY, the supposed birthplace of baseball. It's almost narrative shifting.

Before I get into honorable mentions, and then my usual top 10, let's just congratulate the biggest names of this deadline season, including Noah Syndergaard, Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler, Robbie Ray, Clint Frazier, Matt Boyd, Ken Giles, Hunter Renfroe, Kirby Yates and Alex Colome, who didn't get dealt. They may in fact be the real winners here.

Now, onto the honorable mentions:

-Martin Maldonado to Chicago for Mike Montgomery, THEN to Houston for Tony Kemp

-Hunter Wood & Christian Arroyo to Cleveland, prospects to Tampa

-Derek Holland to Chicago, cash to San Francisco

-Jake Diekman to Oakland, prospects to Kansas City

-Zac Gallen to Arizona, Jazz Chisolm to Miami (remind me to come back to this one in a year)

-Sergio Romo to Minnesota, prospects to Miami

-Roenis Elias to Washington, prospects to Seattle

-Andrew Cashner to Boston, prospects to Baltimore

-Homer Bailey to Oakland, prospects to Kansas City

 -Trevor Richards & Nick Anderson to Tampa, Ryne Stanek to Miami

-Jesus Aguilar to Tampa, Jake Faria to Milwaukee

-Scooter Gennett to San Francisco, prospects to Cincinnati

-Jason Vargas to Philadelphia, prospects to the Mets

...and now...FINALLY...THE TOP TEN

#10- Jordan Lyles to the Brewers, prospect to the Pirates.
How it Benefits Milwaukee: Jordan Lyles gave the Brewers stability in the bullpen last year, and was a crucial member of that playoff team. They now have Starter-Lyles, who has done extremely well in Pittsburgh, with 90 strikeouts in 17 games, despite some recent slip-ups. Lyles can work as a starter, and add to the dire-looking group of starters for the Brewers, and he could also contribute to the red-hot bullpen. This is the kind of two-way player the Brewers need now, and Lyles fits in some cool ways.

#9- Eric Sogard to the Rays, prospects to the Blue Jays
How it benefits Tampa: Gives them some serious NERD POWER. Brandon Lowe's out at 2nd, Wendle is struggling, and the Rays needed a sure thing at 2nd. Sogard gives them that, AND he can also play shortstop or third. Not only is he a jack-of-all-trades in the infield, but he's been on fire at the plate, and can be a Zobrist-esque contact bat throughout the year. Sogard, like Aguilar, fits SO WELL with the Rays lineup that I'm impressed.

#8- Mike Leake to the Diamondbacks, prospects to the Mariners
How it benefits Arizona- I was initially skeptical on whether or not to include this on the list, because Leake going to a non-contender is a little anticlimactic...but then I looked back at it. Zack Greinke, as you'll see later, is gone. Robbie Ray, Merrill Kelly, Taylor Clarke and Alex Young are still in Arizona. Luke Weaver will be off the DL in a few weeks. And now Zac Gallen and Mike Leake are a part of that rotation. I imagine some pieces of this could be shifted to the bullpen or the minors, but...the top five pieces could be a DEADLY rotation. And Leake could be the ace, and fit very well into Greinke's shoes. This may not work for this season, but for the future? Damn.

#7- Nick Castellanos to the Cubs, prospects to the Tigers
How it benefits Chicago: Well...Nick Castellanos can fit either in the outfield or at third, and while the Cubs' lineup is a bit crowded right now, Castellanos gives them flexibility. He's still an alright defender, and he's still a great bat. Now, does this mean someone like Almora or Schwarber plays less? Does this mean Bryant plays at 2nd base more? It's too early to say. But a guy like Castellanos could be pretty deadly in the Cubs lineup.

#6- Tanner Roark to the A's, prospects to the Reds
How it benefits Oakland: The A's may be the under-the-radar winner of this deadline, netting Diekman and Bailey from the Royals, and now Roark from the Reds. We are now looking at a rotation of Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson, Tanner Roark, Chris Bassitt and either Daniel Mengden or Homer Bailey. Add Sean Manaea when he returns later this month, and going into September we could have a strong, cohesive A's rotation. And Roark may challenge Fiers for ace duties, as Roark was damn near an ace in Cincy, and had a 4.24 ERA and 108 strikeouts. They needed a guy like him.

#5- Marcus Stroman to the Mets, prospects to the Jays
How it benefits New York: Well...seeing as the Mets kept their entire youth movement, and only lost Jason Vargas? It REALLY helps them. Because now they have a rotation of DeGrom-Syndergaard-Wheeler-Matz-STROMAN. And now they're all healthy, and we're just heading towards the last few months, WITH EDWIN DIAZ AS WELL. So that could be dangerous. Stroman is nasty when he's on, and he's been on all year, and the Mets will use him to his fullest.

#4- Corey Dickerson to the Phillies, prospects to the Pirates
BET YOU NEVER THOUGHT THIS ONE WOULD BE SO HIGH!!!!
How it benefits the Phillies: The Phils have had an outfield problem all year. First Cutch gets injured, then Herrera gets suspended, then Bruce gets injured. We know Roman Quinn and Nick Williams aren't the answer, and as good as Adam Haseley is, he's definitely more of a backup. For right now, having Dickerson as an outfield bat AND an outfielder in general is a fantastic bet for the Phils. He's been hitting .317 since getting off the DL, he's been a contact-hitting hero in Pittsburgh, and...he's just likable enough for Philly. We may only use him for this fall, because Bruce and Cutch will be back soon, but...he's one hell of an upgrade

#3- THE MEGADEAL: Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati, Yasiel Puig, Franmil Reyes and Logan Allen to Cleveland, and Taylor Trammell to San Diego
How it benefits the Indians: So...the tribe won this trade. Just to be sure. They solved two of their main problems this year: they got a surefire outfielder for the foreseeable future in Yasiel Puig, and they got a guy who can be a permanent DH for them in Franmil Reyes. I do think they'll re-sign Puig as well. AND...they now have Logan Allen, who can be a decent starter option from now until Kluber and Carrasco's return. They got a windfall.
How it benefits the Reds: Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray and Trevor Bauer in the same rotation? That is some scary shit. I don't think it's gonna help them this year, but he will definitely guide them to some great seasons.

#2- Shane Greene to the Braves, prospects to the Tigers
How it benefits Atlanta: I'm gonna keep this very simple. The Braves desperately needed a closer. Now they have one of the best. It's really that simple.

...and, OF COURSE...the #1 move made this deadline...WITHOUT A DOUBT...

#1: Zack Greinke to the Astros, prospects to the Diamondbacks
How it benefits Arizona: As my dad said, 'the Astros just won the World Series'. The one 'okay' aspect of the Astros has been the very back half of its rotation. Collin McHugh and Jose Urquidy have been...human. The Astros cannot look human if they want to be the best, which they've flirted with being. So they need to take things to the next level. Verlander-Greinke-Cole-Miley-Urquidy...is not only the next level, it's the next game. Plus, when Brad Peacock gets back, he's gonna fit right into Urquidy's spot, and make it the single deadliest rotation in baseball. Greinke is among the best, and him on the Astros is...a game-ender.

So...that's my Top 10 deadline deals. Let's see how well these age.