The Cleveland Guardians embarked on a fantastic and inspiring journey in 2023. They advanced to the ALDS after they toppled the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wildcard race before losing to the New York Yankees in five tough contests. There were numerous revelations from their youthful squad, such as guys like Andres Gimenez, Steven Kwan, and Amed Rosario. Coincidentally, Gimenez and Rosario were the two main pieces in the rebuilding trade around Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco.
The upside of the Guardians is excellent, but they still need the lack of postseason experience with this particular nucleus. It is known that Cleveland is unwilling to pay their stars from the previous years, so they will need to start winning before guys like Gimenez, Kwan, and the rest of the crew demand the bag. Cleveland will be the favorites to claim the NL Central crown once again, but it will be curious to see what they can do to challenge or even topple the Houston Astros or New York Yankees in a series.
Did the Guardians execute enough moves?
Since the front office noticed the potential and weaknesses of the roster, they completed a couple of moves to bolster their 40-man roster. Mike Zunino replaced Austin Hedges as the starting catcher, but the health of Zunino remains a question mark heading to Opening Day. The secondary backstop will be an integral position for manager Terry Francona because of Zunino's durability.
The front office added switch-hitting power hitter Josh Bell to fill in the gap at first base. That is a brilliant move for the organization, but other than that, no further actions were taken. There are still some glaring question marks with some pieces in their active roster, but the franchise decided to stand pat. Let's see if they will regret not making more moves or if a couple more individuals will break out in 2023.
How effective will the backend of the rotation be?
The Guardians' trio of Triston McKenzie, Cal Quantrill, and Shane Bieber is one of the best in baseball today. There are few doubts about the exceptional performance they will bring for their 2023 campaign, but the looming question is for their fourth and fifth starters. Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale were arguably two of the worst pitchers from their staff last season, so they will need to prove why they deserve their spots.
Plesac appeared in 25 games (24 starts) and lost a measly number of 12 games compared to the three victories he earned. Run support is an issue in Cleveland, but there is no excuse for having nine more losses than wins and an ERA of 4.31. His ERA was even worse for Civale as it was close to 5.00. The pitching is the major asset of Cleveland, and they need two athletes who continue possessing these numbers.
How many players will hit over 20 homers?
The stolen base, extra-base hit, and other small ball numbers were phenomenal for the Guardians. They keep the game close and manufacture ways to steal victories through their talented pitching. Some pitchers have off nights, and it is essential to have powers that can tackle a double down the line or homer to center field.
From their players last season, Jose Ramirez had 29 homers, and Josh Naylor had 20 long bombs. In the 2021 season, it was only Ramirez and Franmil Reyes who eclipsed the 20-homer mark, so they must exceed the barometer of two players reaching that mark
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