For most of their history, the Cleveland Guardians have taken pride in building contending teams on a low budget. They’ve always been the team that has hung its hat on spending as little money as possible while staying competitive, and, more often than not, that approach has worked out perfectly for them.
That’s not likely to change any time soon. If anything, they might offload Steven Kwan before he gets a little too pricey.
With that in mind, Bruce Drennan has some bad news for the fans. In the latest edition of his podcast, the controversial sports analyst shut down all rumors about potentially making a run at a big-name free agent:
“Free agents: Pete Alonso, Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suarez, Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber, don’t expect Cleveland to be bidding for any of those guys,” Drennan said.
Bruce listed off the top free agents just so he could say the Guardians won't pursue a single one of them. #GuardsBall
Do you see any surprise signings in Cleveland? pic.twitter.com/T7PRHRBEt7
— Bruce Drennan Show (@Bruce_Drennan) November 22, 2025
That’s not much of a surprise. If anything, it would’ve been shocking to see this front office willingly break the bank or even try to outbid a powerhouse to acquire the services of a bona fide superstar, regardless of how much they might need him.
What’s more likely to happen is that the Guardians will try to acquire a proven, mid-tier veteran via trade and make a run at a couple of players to sign them to short-term, low-money deals. All that while hoping that their young studs prove to be as good as expected.
That’s not necessarily the most exciting way to put together a team. But after watching this organization perennially make the playoffs despite spending way less money than most of its competitors, it’s hard to argue with the way they’ve chosen to approach roster-building.
NEXT: Guardians Could Have Had Massive Haul At Trade Deadline
