The Cleveland Guardians have had a very quiet offseason so far on the heels of back-to-back AL Central titles. The fans are dying for the team to make a splash or two to help get the team over the hump, but it’s looking like the improvements are going to come from within.
It’s not the sexy approach, but the Guardians have plenty of high-end talent in the minors that is just about ready to start contributing at the big-league level in a major way. With some prospects hopefully graduating to the majors in 2026, the Guardians need to keep looking to retool, which is why they are doing their homework on an exciting young shortstop prospect who they are heavily in the mix to sign. Guardians Prospective is always clued in regarding the team’s upcoming international player signings, and they recently posted about shortstop prospect John Cruz out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The account shared that the Guardians are currently the favorites to sign him.
“Cleveland Guardians are favorites to sign (SS) prospect John Cruz out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Cruz trains with Rivas Y Ventura Academy. He is not eligible to sign until the 1/15/27 International signing day,” Guardians Prospective posted on X.
Cleveland #Guardians are favorites to sign (SS) prospect John Cruz out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Cruz trains with Rivas Y Ventura Academy.
He is not eligible to sign until the 1/15/27 International signing day.#Guardsball pic.twitter.com/kVoDjm8HcD
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) January 13, 2026
It’s a year early, but these relationships need to be established early, so it’s good to hear that the Guardians are already invested in Cruz. From the video shared by Guardians Prospective, Cruz is a slick fielder and has a strong arm, though he obviously has a long way to go in his development.
This franchise’s long-term solution at shortstop may not be in the organization yet, but former No. 1 pick Travis Bazzana is close to debuting and will ideally lock down the infield for a decade or more. His double-play partner up the middle hasn’t been established yet, as 25-year-old Gabriel Arias didn’t show much promise with the bat this past season and will need to step it up to firmly establish his place within the organization. Fans can’t get ahead of themselves on this one, as a lot can happen in a year.
Hopefully, the scouts keep working hard and finding diamonds in the rough wherever they can, and we’ll see if Cruz signs with the team next year.
NEXT: Guardians Sign Former Angels Infielder
