CLEVEL,AND, Ohio — Manager Stephen Vogt and executives Chris Antonetti, MIke Chernoff andMatt Forman met with reporters on Tuesday to discuss the Guardians run to the American League Championship Series and the approach of the 2025 season.
Here are 10 storyline from the meeting.
No. 1: Are any players facing offseason surgery?
All-Start utility man David Fry will have his right elbow examined in the near fugture by Dr. Keith Meister. Fry was limited to DHing and pinch-hitter after the All-Stars break after injuring his elbow making a throw against Toronto while catching.
No. 2: Will the Guardians bring manager Stephen Vogt’s coaching staff back for 2025?
“We have every intention of wanting everyone back,” said Vogt. “With the success of a team like this, people are going to watch a piece of it. We’re still working through all of that.
“We intend to have everyone back. We just have to let the dust settle and see where things end up.”
No. 3: Is there interest in bringing free agent starters Shane Bieber, Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb back for 2025?
“We’ve talked with Matthew, Alex and Shane about (having) interest in bringing them back,” said Vogt. “All three of them are interested as well. We know we have a lot pieces. We know we have a lot of work to do. It’s a big winter for a lot of guys in the rotation and on our team.”
The Guardians have talked to veteran free agent starters Shane Bieber, Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb about re-sigjning for 2025.Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
No. 4: Where do starters Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen stand for 2025?
“The good news on the year for Triston is that he’s healthy,” said Antonetti, president of baseball operations. “What we were able to see as he got his legs under him is as some of his stuff returned, he had a difficult time executiving consistently in the strike zone.
“Triston is in a group of players, some with major league experience and some young players, where this is a really important offseason for the them.”
Regarding Allen, Antonetti said, “When Logan is at his best, his fastball has certain profiles, his breaking ball has certain profiles. At times this year we saw that his pitches weren’t as good as they had been in the past. Making those adjustments during the season is really hard to do. . .What we talked to Logan about is that when he’s had great winters in the past, and come to spring training in a really good place, he can ge really effective. Our goal is to partner with him on that.”
No. 5: Is Josh Naylor, a free agent after 2025, a trade candidate?
“When we talk about the guys who have had a massive impact on our success, Josh is at or near the top of the list,” said Antonetti. “The stability he provided in the middle of our lineup. The protection he provided for Jose (Ramirez), we would not have been playing as deep into the season as we did without him.
“Beyond that Josh is one of the toughest individuals that I can imagine. He played banged-up throughout the course of the season. He was determined to be in the lineup every day to try and help the team. Those are not things we take for granted.
“He has been a huge contributor for us in the past and we expect that he’ll make comparable contributions to us in 2025. . .Our expectation is that Josh will be an anchor on our team in 2025 and, hopefully, beyond that.”
No. 6: What about his physical conditioning?
“Each person has different body types,” said Antonetti. “I don’t think that was a factor for Josh at all this year with his availability and his ability to play.”
No. 7: Will the extra revenue genrated by 10 postseason games allow the Guardians to pursue free agents or extensions for players?
“It’s certainly helpful to generate additional revenue,” said Antonetti. “We are in a really fortunate position with our ownership in that all the revenue we generate gets poured back into baseball operations. For major league payroll, for infrastructue, for people. We invest everything we earn back into the team. So things like getting to the postseason certainly help.”
No. 8: Are there any details on the Guardians going with MLB on a new TV contract for 2025 after being dropped by Diamond Sports Group?
“We have a little more clarity than we did a few months ago,” said Antonetti. “We’re going to partner with Major League Baseball on delivering content which has a number of benefits. We can get past the blackout and our games will be available to a wider audience for Guardians fans.
“But what it means in term of revenue is really hard to project.”
Outfielder Chase DeLauter is playing in the Arizona Fall League for the second year in a row.AP
No. 9: How is outfielder Chase DeLauter doing in the Arizona Fall League after being injured for much of the 2024 season?
“Chase has played in four or five games to this point,” said Foreman, executive vice president and assistant general manager. “We partnered with Chase to develop a holistic plan for his offseason to makeup for lost time. He’s playing twice a week, predominantly at DH, in the AFL. On the days he’s not playing, he’s spending a lot of time at our complex in Goodyear working with our medical group, strength and defensive group and our hitting and defensive group, too.
“We really want him to focus on his body. It’s been great to see his commitment to that.”
No. 10: How do you make sure that the success of 2024 is a building block for 2025 and beyond?
“It starts, for me, with the importance of the offseason,” said Antonetti. “We have to make sure that our players understand the importance of the offseason and how that impacts their performance in 2025.
“We need to make sure guys rest and recover and do what they need to do. Then we immediatley start helping support them in achieving some of the goals they want to accomplish in 2025.
“It’s a good group to bet on. It’s the youngest roster in baseball. The position player group is exceedingly young. In the normal course of development, they’re at the peak spot where there’s an opportunity to get better, but it’s not going to happen by accident. “