The Guardians again rode another strong September to their third straight AL Central title. They nabbed a first-round bye and overcame a 2-0 deficit to bounce the White Sox en route to the ALCS. Cleveland looked generally overmatched against the best team in the American League, though, and they again face questions about whether there’s enough offensive talent to truly rank among World Series contenders.

Guaranteed Contracts

• 3B José Ramírez: $150MM through 2032 ($60MM deferred between 2036-51)
• RHP Tanner Bibee: $39MM through 2029 (including buyout of ’30 club option)

Option Decisions

• Team holds $10MM option on RHP Emmanuel Clase ($2MM buyout; Clase remains on unpaid leave)
• Team holds $7.25MM option on RHP Trevor Stephan ($1.25MM buyout)
• Team, RHP Shawn Armstrong hold $8MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)

Additional Financial Commitment: Owe $1.75MM to Blue Jays as condition of 2025 Myles Straw trade

2027 guarantees: $36.5MM ($10MM deferred)
Total future commitments: $193.5MM plus deferrals owed to Ramírez

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

• Jo Adell (5.085): $9.6MM
• Steven Kwan (5.000): $11.3MM
• Colin Holderman (4.108): $2.3MM
• David Fry (3.154): $1.9MM
• Matt Festa (3.153): $1.5MM
• Patrick Bailey (3.136): $2.3MM
• Gavin Williams (3.103): $4.8MM
• Blake Perkins (3.075): $900K
• Hunter Gaddis (3.073): $2.2MM
• Tim Herrin (3.058): $1.3MM
• Brayan Rocchio (3.001): $3.1MM
• Cade Smith (3.000): $5.5MM
• Slade Cecconi (2.155): $2MM

Non-tender candidates: Adell, Fry, Perkins

Free Agents

• Foster Griffin, Rhys Hoskins, Austin Hedges, Shawn Armstrong, Nathaniel Lowe, Connor Brogdon (minor league), Carlos Hernández (minor league)

Three teams are riding a streak of three or more consecutive division titles: the Dodgers (five), Brewers (four), and Guardians (three). Among American League teams, only the Yankees have a better record than Cleveland since the start of 2024. The Guardians have twice played for the American League pennant in that span, though they were bounced by New York and Tampa Bay, respectively.

Cleveland has had a high floor, anchored by having a future Hall of Famer playing on a series of below-market contracts and their pitching development. Yet they’ve also been hamstrung by payroll limitations that annually leave them with a weak bottom half of the lineup. Cleveland has respectively ranked 28th and 24th in scoring over the last two seasons. Rays pitching held them to 18 runs over six games in the ALCS, where Chase DeLauter was their only real source of offense.

Some of the scoring deficiency is by choice. Cleveland’s front office is content to punt offense from the catcher position, for instance. They clearly believe that’s a big reason they’re routinely among the best in the league at run prevention. That’s fine as long as they’re getting production elsewhere in the lineup, but Cleveland hasn’t gotten enough from first base and the outfield. The middle infield was an issue before the 2026 season as well, though that’s in better position now thanks to a pair of talented rookies.