Portrait 2026: Cleveland Guardians

The 2026 Major League Baseball season is about to begin. At Passion MLB, as we have done for years, we're setting the stage for the season by introducing all 30 teams in Major League Baseball.

Today, the Guardians are on the menu.

2025 Season

Let's not beat around the bush: the big news coming out of Cleveland in 2025 has been the story of Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz. The two pitchers are embroiled in a betting scandal and face prison time.

The story is still unfolding.

But on the field, that didn't stop the Guardians from erasing a 15.5-game deficit in the Central to overtake the Tigers at the top of their division. That was pretty unexpected.

That said, in the wild card round, Cleveland's team, led by Stephen Vogt—who was once again named Manager of the Year—lost to those same Detroit Tigers.

Additions and Departures

Obviously, in Cleveland, offseasons are never wild in terms of signings. What generated the most buzz in this Ohio city was Jose Ramirez's contract extension—which isn't a signing in terms of a new player, of course.

He added four years to his contract, which will see him earn $175 million over the next seven years of his career.

The Guardians officially announce José Ramírez's seven-year, $175M extension The deal will keep him in Cleveland through his age-39 season pic.twitter.com/RW98wbiMUP — B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) January 29, 2026

Pitchers like Colin Holderman, Connor Brogdon, and Shawn Armstrong have joined the team, and Rhys Hoskins has signed a minor league contract. Lane Thomas, Jakob Junis, John Means, Sam Hentges, and Jhonkensy Noel have left.

Nothing to write home about…

Strengths and Weaknesses
The Guardians have always had good pitchers, but in 2025, the team was more of a middle-of-the-pack squad. And now, without Clase from the start of the season, it won't be easy.

Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Erik Sabrowski, and Hunter Gaddis are guys to watch. But above all, I'm eager to see how Canadian Cade Smith performs in his first full season as a closer.

Cade Smith enjoyed a wonderful rookie season in the dominant @CleGuardians bullpen.The AL Rookie of the Year finalist ranks as The Shredder's #2 relief pitcher on the #Top10RightNow. pic.twitter.com/shG57npz6M — MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 9, 2025

On offense, everything will revolve around Jose Ramirez. Bo Naylor, Steven Kwan, Gabriel Arias, Chase DeLauter, and Brayan Rocchio will also have to step up to help the team.

There, it's strength in numbers that will help—or not—the team succeed. But over the past few years, things have often gone well anyway, when you look at it.

Expectations for the 2026 Season
The Guardians will battle the Tigers and the Royals for the top spot in the division. Winning the division would be ideal to give themselves a shot at the playoffs, since several teams in the East will also be vying for wild card spots in the American League.

If Jose Ramirez is in top form, that will help the Guardians, who won't necessarily have it easy. And barring an injury, there's no reason why JRam wouldn't be at the top of his game in 2026.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.