As we know, Chris Antonetti is the master of non-answers and question dodging – but there was a surprising amount of information that he divulged to a crowd of primarily fans and Rubber Ducks’ employees on Friday, January 23rd. If you are more interested in a brief summary, I released a short overview of the event which you can read here. Lots to talk about so lets dive right in:
Travis Bazzana
Antonetti spoke a little bit about the former #1 overall draft pick — mostly regarding his 2025 season in the minor leagues. The Guardians POBO highlighted that Travis had a perfectly good first full season in the Minor Leagues (137 wRC+ between AA and AAA) but also acknowledged that it was perhaps not the season that Bazzana wanted for himself. The message was clear: the adversity Bazzana faced along the way has set a goal for what the second basemen needs to do in order to reach his lofty potential. Antonetti concluded by confirming that Bazzana will be starting 2026 in AAA, which was already expected.
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Bullpen – Primary Area of Concern
As reflected in the Guardians offseason moves, Antonetti called bullpen depth the most crucial part of their offseason agenda. The Guardians so far in the offseason have acquired Pedro Avila (MiLB deal), Codi Heuer (MiLB deal), Shawn Armstrong (MLB Deal), Colin Holderman (MLB Deal), Peyton Pallete (Rule 5), and Connor Brogdon (MLB Deal).
As a general rule, I implicitly trust this team when it comes to bargain bin reliever signings. Shawn Armstrong was certainly not one of these signings coming off a season where he posted a 2.31 ERA in 71 games. The contract signed was for 5.5M with a mutual option for 2027.
The endeavor of acquiring bullpen pieces has seemingly been a success for the Guardians Front Office, though there is definitely questions about the left handed options out there. With only Sabrowski and Herrin on the MLB roster, and no lefty relievers currently slated to be in AAA, the lefty reliever market could definitely be an area that Guardians are still active.
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The Hitting Group is Set
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Cleveland Guardians will not be bringing in any Major League bats for the upcoming season. The clear area of concern that we fans wanted the Guardians to address was a RHH option in the OF, and once again all signs point to another season with that as a weakness coming up.
Antonetti did not put any blame on payroll when asked about this topic, instead he attributed it to the lack of interest from free agents when it came to the playing time that they would be afforded here in Cleveland. Lane Thomas was brought up as someone that the team was interested in bringing back, but with DeLauter, Valera, and Kayfus all vying for outfield reps there was simply not an everyday role for Thomas. Lane Thomas opted to sign with the Royals for 5.25M.
Poor Eddie Rosario caught a stray from Antonetti as an example of why signing fringe free agents is not always in their best interest.
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Austin Hays and Miguel Andujar still remain unsigned but Antonetti was about as definitive as you will see him, they will not be Guardians come Spring Training. There are a few players still out on the market that might make sense to join Stuart Fairchild as MiLB deals, but my hopes aren’t very high for them either.
Manzardo
Guardians young slugger Kyle Manzardo was a topic broached in the discussion. Antonetti shared that he has gained some muscle this offseason, claiming 13lbs of lean muscle added to his frame. That sounds a little generous… but sure we will take any good news we can take at this point.
ABS Challenge System
Chris Antonetti was seemingly very on board with the new ABS system being integrated to MLB games. He remarked that Guardians Pitchers will not be permitted to use those challenges claiming that Tanner Bibee would run out of challenges in the first inning. Having watched Tanner, you can see how his competitive edge might lend himself to hoping for a few too many calls. Another player mentioned in this discussion was Austin Hedges, who is going to be gaming the ABS system as much as he can behind the plate — as always Hedgey is our pitchers’ greatest ally.
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Golden Batter Rule
Rob Manfred has recently started peddling a “Golden Batter” rule, which would allow a team to pick one spot per game where they can put their best hitter up at the plate. Chris Antonetti, who was part of the group that brought baseball the pitch clock and larger bases, is not enthused with that idea. I agree wholeheartedly, as most fans and people in the game do.
Cozart and Ingle – Catcher Defense
The Guardians two prevalent catching prospects were touched on briefly during the discussion. Jacob Cozart, who posted a 108 wRC+ between A+ and AA in 2025, had his defense lauded as near Austin Hedges levels. Fangraphs has Cozart rated as the Guardians #26 prospect — though Longehagen clearly doesn’t think as highly of his defense.
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Cooper Ingle had the opposite said of him, the defense needs a lot of work. His bat was praised by Antonetti, coming off a 139 wRC+ season between AA and AAA, but there is certainly some doubt in the glove. This is a sentiment that has been shared by many in the Guardians organization for a little while now. With Ingle’s bat being as attractive as it is, I would not be surprised to see him start to get reps in other positions this upcoming season.
2025 Draft Comments
Antonetti was asked by a fellow attendee about last years draft, asking if first round pick Jace LaViolette was a sign of a new approach to hitting in the organization. Antonetti summarily shut this down by claiming that the organization did the same thing they always do: draft the best player available.
I call BS on this personally, LaViolette, Curley, and Schubart are not players I would have expected the team to draft when you take their draft history into account. Antonetti played it as he always does, with a non-answer keeping his cards close to his chest.
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2016 Game 7
I’m not sure if this has ever been shared before and I missed it, but incase you needed another reason to dislike Rob Manfred Antonetti shared a story about that fateful game.
While the rain delay was happening Antonetti, Manfred, and Cubs GM Theo Epstein were gathered into a room where Manfred suggested postponing the game until the next day. I could not imagine how ridiculous of a decision that would be and despite how the game ended up, I am glad it was finished that night.
That’s the gist of what Guardians POBO Chris Antonetti shared at the Akron Rubber Ducks’ Hot Stove Banquet. As usual, he kept his cards close to his chest, but there was some substance to discuss and capture my attention during a dry spell of the offseason. Hopefully there was something interesting for you in this write-up!
Read the full article here
