[U7Gohan]

Playoff Roundup

As said, the Dodgers repeated as World Champions with a 4-0 sweep of the Guardians. It was one of the most impressive offensive performances by a team I have ever seen with the combination of clutch hitting and overall prowess. The Guardians will reevaluate what they have this offseason.

A small bright spot is that CF Michael A. Taylor won World Series MVP despite the loss, as he batted .600 with 2 HR, 4 R, and 4 RBI.

State of the Team

News Dump

In a shocking rule change made by Commissioner Rob Manfred, the AL will no longer be using the Designated Hitter. This will cause a big shift to our offseason strategy.

SP Shane Bieber won the AL Cy Young Award and Manager Aaron Sele won AL Manager of the Year. Additionally, Austin Hedges, Andres Gimenez, and Carlos Correa all won Gold Glove Awards, while Andres Gimenez also won Silver Slugger for his position.

We exercised CF Michael A. Taylor's 2025 team option for $7.6M.

We came to an agreement with C Austin Hedges on an extension that will pay him $1.3M in 2025, but has a team option for 2026 valued at $5.5M. This will likely be the only contract the Guardians hand out to a MLB player this offseason.

Arbitration hearings saw four players get non-tendered: SP Kris Bubic, 1B Josh Naylor, 2B Bryson Stott, and LF Oscar Mercado. All other arbitration-eligible players were tendered contracts.

Offseason Goals

Despite the World Series run, GM U7Gohan is dissatisfied with the state of the team's pitching staff, and with the team's core a year older and a year closer to free-agency, he is willing to make franchise-altering moves to set the team up for success both in the near-term and in the long-term. With that said, he was impressed by the team's offensive performance in the playoffs and it appears finding a bat will not be on the team's top priority list this offseason.

Minor League Report

The latest Top 100 Prospects report has the Guardians now ranked 12th in MLB, with a couple of new faces on the list.

SS Luis Carrizales (0.5, 5.0) - #6
SS Angel Martinez (2.5, 3.0) - #55
RP Lenny Torres (3.0, 3.5) - #69
2B Tommy Troy (2.0, 4.0) - #93

Other emerging prospects to watch are...

3B Luis Huerta (0.5, 4.0) - R ACL
C Josh Atomanczyk (0.5, 3.5) - R ACL
RF Cage McCloud (0.5, 2.5) - R ACL

Around the League

Awards

AL:

MVP: Mike Trout (LAA)

Cy Young: Shane Bieber (CLE)

Rookie of the Year: Tyler Freeman (HOU)

Reliever of the Year: Andres Munoz (SEA)

Manager of the Year: Aaron Sele (CLE)

NL:

MVP: Shohei Ohtani (LAD)

Cy Young: Luis Castillo (CHC)

Rookie of the Year: Robert Hassell III (SDP)

Reliever of the Year: Yerry De Los Santos (PIT)

Manager of the Year: Dave Roberts (LAD)

Top Free Agents

The top free agents, according to Scouting Director Will Ohman, are...

Hitters:

SS Trea Turner (4.5, 4.5)
1B Raita Yamaguchi (4.0, 4.0)
3B Alex Bregman (3.5, 3.5)
SS Brandon Crawford (3.5, 3.5)
RF Mark Canha (3.0, 3.0)
RF Michael Conforto (3.0, 3.0)
CF Victor Robles (3.0, 3.0)

Pitchers:

RP Edwin Diaz (5.0, 5.0)
RP Ryan Pressly (4.0, 4.0)
SP Zack Wheeler (4.0, 4.0)
RP Tommy Kahnle (3.5, 3.5)
SP Max Scherzer (3.5, 3.5)
SP Matthew Boyd (3.0, 3.0)
SP Hyun-woo Kim (3.0, 3.0)

Major Trades

Mariners RP Andres Munoz (4.5, 4.5) to Mets

Major Extensions

SP Shane Baz (4.0, 4.5) signs with Rays for $107.6M/6yr
1B Paul Goldschmidt (4.5, 4.5) signs with Cardinals for $50.4M/2yr
SS Geraldo Perdomo (3.5, 3.5) signs with DBacks for $53.3M/5yr
3B Austin Riley (3.5, 3.5) signs with Braves for $48.5M/3yr
2B Brendan Rodgers (3.0, 3.0) signs with Rockies for $30M/3yr
2B Nico Hoerner (3.0, 3.0) signs with Cubs for $30.9M/3yr
SP Shane McClanahan (3.5, 3.5) signs with Rays for $103.6M/6yr
3B Andy Ibanez (3.0, 3.0) signs with Tigers for $15.2M/4yr
SP Ranger Suarez (3.0, 3.0) signs with Phillies for $59.9M/4yr
CF Josh Lowe (4.0, 4.5) signs with Rays for $183.5M/8yr
C Adley Rutschman (5.0, 5.0) signs with Orioles for $159.2M/8yr
3B Bobby Witt Jr. (3.5, 3.5) signs with Royals for $47.2M/5yr
CF Brennen Davis (3.0, 3.5) signs with Cubs for $37.6M/5yr
3B Gunnar Henderson (3.0, 3.0) signs with Orioles for $33M/5yr
SP Jack Flaherty (3.5, 4.0) signs with Cardinals for $155.4M/7yr


The next post will round up December.