In Major League Baseball, players need to consistently produce to keep justifying a starting spot or a place on the roster. Some of them might have a longer leash, earned with years of quality play, but performance always ends up deciding who is on the field.
The Cleveland Guardians had a fantastic 2026 season, all things considered. They were among the last four teams standing before being eliminated by the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Championship Series. However, some players experienced rough stretches that damaged their final stat lines and need to prove themselves in 2027.
Jose Ramirez is the obvious example, but a hand injury and posterior surgery probably limited him all summer. His disappointing campaign might have had more to do with health than anything else. These two, however, are entering the offseason with a chip on their shoulder:
Tanner Bibee
After all the postseason drama surrounding starting pitcher Tanner Bibee, it’s fair to wonder how he will rebound in 2027, from a strictly mental standpoint. As a reminder, he led the Guardians with 188 innings in the regular season, but manager Stephen Vogt didn’t trust him in the playoffs, and he only pitched one game and got one out.
Bibee has a lot to prove in 2027. He needs to show the world that the Guardians can still trust him, not just in regular season games but also in October. He also has to find a way to improve his fastball or optimize his pitch mix, so home runs (29 of them allowed this year) won’t be such a big issue.
Bibee needs to show that he can stop a worrisome trend: his ERA has increased every year since he made his MLB debut in 2023. That year, it was 2.98, and it finished at a mediocre 4.36 in 2026.
Bibee is the highest-paid pitcher on the Guardians. He needs to start pitching like it.
Kyle Manzardo
The Guardians wouldn’t have had to acquire Nathaniel Lowe during the offseason had Kyle Manzardo been able to replicate his 2025 success. Last year, the first baseman slugged 27 home runs with a 113 wRC+ that revealed above-average offensive performance. Things weren’t so smooth this year, though.
The lefty hit .215/.306/.378 with 13 home runs and a below-average 94 wRC+ in 2026, and come the deadline, the Guardians decided to option him to Triple-A and trade for Lowe. Fans and members of the media are assuming that Ralphy Velazquez will be the first baseman of the future, and it’s not a bad guess: he will undoubtedly be involved. However, Manzardo will probably get a chance to redeem himself.
The slugger enters the offseason with a chip on his shoulder and a lot to prove. Another streaky campaign like 2026 will likely see him shipped to another team or sent to the minors as organizational depth, but he showed in 2025 that the potential is there for him to be a solid middle-of-the-lineup stalwart.
NEXT: 2 Guardians Free Agents They Must Re-Sign
