Have The Cleveland Guardians Turned The Financial Corner?

All of a sudden there is something about opening day that brings out the free-spending ways of the heretofore stagnant-spending ways of the Cleveland Guardians.

On their last two opening days, the Guardians have announced the signing of three players to contract extensions totaling $257.5 million.

On opening day 2022, Cleveland signed all-star third baseman Jose Ramirez to a seven-year $141 million extension.

On opening day 2023, the Guardians announced the signing of all-star second baseman Andres Gimenez to a seven-year $106.5 million extension, with a club option for 2030, while also signing Trevor Stephan, one of the team’s top relievers, to a four-year $10 million extension, with club options for 2027 and 2028.

All this from a team that, in recent years, could typically be found near the bottom of the major leagues’ annual payroll roll call.

So what’s going on in Cleveland?

Well, the addition of minority owner David Blitzer last year certainly must be considered a major factor. Blitzer, in addition to the Guardians, has ownership stakes in the New Jersey Devils NHL team and the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA. Blitzer is expected to eventually succeed Paul Dolan as the Guardians’ principal owner.

Another explanation for Cleveland’s sudden expenditures is the makeup of the Guardians’ roster. For the second year in a row, Cleveland, with an average age of 27 on their big-league roster, has the youngest team in the major leagues.

They’re not just young, they’re good. The Guardians last season staged a furious second-half surge in winning the Central Division in the American League, then came within one win of advancing to the American League Championship Series.

With several young, productive players on their roster, getting as many of those players signed to multi-year deals, brings a degree of cost certainty to the ballclub. It also, not coincidentally, allows the team – and the player – to avoid having to potentially go through the salary arbitration process every year to determine player salaries.

It’s a matter of finding the right player and having enough money.

In the case of Gimenez, the Guardians checked both boxes.

“We believe he has developed into one of the best all-around infielders in major league baseball,” said Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti. “He’s not only an elite defender at second base, he’s a great base runner. . . Beyond that, he’s a great teammate, and a leader in the clubhouse. We’re excited to have him on our club for a very long time.”

For teams such as the Guardians, and especially for the Guardians, there is great value in being able to afford locking star players, such as Ramirez and Gimenez, into multi-year deals.

“It’s really important for our planning,” said Antonetti. “They are foundational pieces that allow us to be successful, championship-caliber teams, because we believe they are both elite players. That’s a great starting point for building good teams moving forward.”

In addition to Ramirez and Gimenez, the Guardians last season signed – but not on opening day – center fielder Myles Straw to a five-year $25 million deal, and closer Emmanuel Clase to a five-year $20 million extension.

“It also,” said Antonetti of the appeal of multi-year contracts for selected players, “allows us to plan around them and understand what our commitments are, what our team could look like, and look where we may want to complement the group.”

In the case of Gimenez, he drew a lot of compliments last season, emerging as a star, who is as valuable offensively as defensively. Among all positions players in 2022, Gimenez’s 7.4 WAR led all American League players not named Aaron Judge. Gimenez also hit .297, with 17 home runs and 20 stolen bases. He finished sixth in the MVP voting, and he won a Gold Glove for his play at second base, where he was the American League starter in the All-Star game.

“His defense at second base has been a competitive advantage for us,” Antonetti said. “We believe in him as a player and a person. We think he has a really bright future ahead of him, so we looked for ways for us to extend his time with us.”

Since the Guardians are apparently now in a spending mood, who could be future targets for a contract extension?

The most obvious candidate is pitcher Shane Bieber, who has finished in the top seven in the Cy Young voting in three of the last four years, and won the award in 2020. At 28, Bieber is entering what should be the prime of his career, but he also can become a free agent following the 2024 season.

Obviously, the closer Bieber gets to free agency, the harder it will be to sign him. But at least the Guardians appear to now be open for business when it comes to extending the contracts of certain players on their roster. Who will be the next Guardian to strike it rich?

For that, we might have to wait until opening day next year.