The Cleveland Guardians have plenty of talent on their roster. They might not get the credit they deserve, but they have a young group of up-and-coming players who are only going to get better with more experience.
That’s why, as much as they would love to bolster the roster, they also have to think about the future. At least, that’s how Chris Antonetti feels right now.
When asked about the front office’s plans for the offseason, the Guardians executive pretty much claimed that they will prioritize developing the group they have at this moment:
“We have a lot of players we want to give runway to and allow them to take the opportunity and help build on the experiences that they had from last year,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “That was the group of guys that were here, and even another wave of guys that have not yet had those opportunities at the Major League level. The thing we’re balancing — especially on the position-player side — is whoever we bring in, what opportunities does that take away from the group that we have? We spent, like, three hours on that this morning, really talking through, ‘OK, if we bring this guy in, who’s not going to play?’”
That makes perfect sense. If anything, the Guardians have a couple of young studs also waiting in line to get their chance and make their MLB debuts next season. Making sure that they can put their youngsters in a position to compete and get better for years to come should be of the utmost importance for this organization.
That being said, you can’t win only with young players. Jose Ramirez is one of the best players in baseball, and the team needs to give him the supporting cast he deserves at this point in his career.
That’s not to say that they should break the bank and go after the most prominent players in the game. However, this team must find the right balance between developing its young stars and winning some baseball games.
They’re not that far off, but they can’t rest on their laurels right now.
NEXT: Guardians Linked To Intriguing SS Prospect In Latest Mock Draft
