Cleveland

Guardians

It’s difficult to reconcile Clase’s outstanding numbers with the idea that he was actually working against himself a fair amount of the time, but that’s the accusation here. Clase remains on non-disciplinary paid leave from MLB, and his trial is currently scheduled to begin on May 4.

Allard had a surprising 2.63 ERA in 65 innings (two starts, 31 relief appearances) for the Guardians last season, lowering his career mark from 5.99 to 5.34. He had just a 16% strikeout rate in the process, so there’s not really any reason to expect him to do it again. The Guardians, though, have a way of coaxing these kinds of results from journeymen.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports the deal is done, pending a physical. Meisel adds that the new agreement would add an additional four years and $106 million to Ramírez’s current contract and includes $70 million deferred. The 33-year-old fantasy superstar finished third in AL MVP Award balloting this past season. He’s recorded five consecutive 20-homer, 20-steal campaigns dating back to 2021. Cleveland’s franchise cornerstone has cleared 40 steals in consecutive seasons — a pace that’s unlikely to survive deep into his late 30’s — but his well-rounded game is built to age well, positioning him to remain an elite power-speed fantasy contributor even as the raw speed inevitably tapers. He’ll be the top third baseman off the board in all fantasy drafts this spring.

The Mets needed some extra pool money to sign top international prospect Wandy Asigen, who recently committed to them after a deal with the Yankees fell apart. That worked out great for the Guardians, who don’t like spending money. Gomez was the Mets’ No. 22 prospect, according to Baseball America. The 20-year-old, an international signing in 2022, had a 2.76 ERA in 71 2/3 innings for two A-ball teams last season.

Kieboom had only eight plate appearances for the Angels in 2025, but hit .319/.368/.449 with nine home runs and 11 steals in 93 games for Triple-A Salt Lake. The former top prospect will likely be corner infield depth for the Guardians in 2026 and should no longer be counted on for any major MLB production.

Kwan won a Gold Glove this year and hit .272/.330/.374 with 11 home runs and 21 steals in 156 games. His modest power surge from 2024 didn’t quite carry over, nor did his nearly .300 batting average, but he tied his career high in steals and remains a very solid outfielder.

Nuñez was with the Guardians last year, getting only seven at-bats with the big league club. He hit .176/.330/.349 with nine home runs in 76 games at Triple-A Columbus. He’ll continue to serve as organizational depth.

It’s a split contract for the 28-year-old hurler, who will earn a larger salary if he cracks the Guardians’ roster at any point during the 2026 campaign. Avila spent the 2025 season pitching for the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. There, he registered a 3.33 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 74/42 K/BB ratio across 102 2/3 innings in 21 appearances.

Heuer only pitched 4 2/3 innings in the big leagues last year and had not thrown an MLB inning since 2021 prior to that. The 29-year-old had a 3.14 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 62/17 K/BB ratio in 48 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year and feels like a decent bet to make the Guardians’ bullpen.

The 35-year-old Armstrong arrives in Cleveland after a terrific season in which he had a 2.31 ERA in 74 innings for the Rangers. Still, there isn’t any telling what Armstrong will give a team on a year-to-year basis. In the five big-league seasons in which he’s pitched at least 50 innings, he’s finished with ERA of 5.74 (2019), 4.38 (2022), 1.38 (2023), 4.86 (2024) and 2.31. His career ERA is 3.82, but he’s never actually finished in the 3.00s once in the 11 years since his debut. The Guardians figure to have him help set up for Cade Smith.