The Cleveland Guardians are ready to take the field against the Kansas City Royals for their Opening Day matchup on Thursday, starting at 4:10 pm ET.
Tanner Bibee, who posted a 3.47 ERA with 187 strikeouts last year and recently signed a five-year, $48 million extension, was supposed to take the ball for Cleveland against top lefty Cole Ragans, but a case of food poisoning forced the Guards to go with Ben Lively.
After days of speculation, the Guards have finally announced their roster for the first day of the 2025 campaign.
The 2️⃣6️⃣ that we're starting the season with.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/ItfwNuWDgJ
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) March 27, 2025
Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges will be the catchers, while Carlos Santana, Kyle Manzardo, Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio, Jose Ramirez, and Daniel Schneemann will be the infielders.
Lane Thomas, Steven Kwan, Nolan Jones, Jhonkensy Noel, and the surprising Johnathan Rodriguez are the available outfielders.
Bibee, Gavin Williams, Luis Ortiz, Lively, and Logan Allen make up the rotation, while Emmanuel Clase, Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, Joey Cantillo, Triston McKenzie, Jakob Junis, and Paul Sewald will be in the bullpen.
Cleveland is carrying three guys who can pitch multiple innings in their bullpen as a way to make up for potentially short outings from their starters since they are still building up their arms: McKenzie, Cantillo, and Junis.
Arias is expected to handle most of the second base work while Schneemann fulfills more of a super-utility role.
The recently-acquired Jones will get the bulk of playing time against right-handed pitchers in right field, with ‘Big Christmas’ Noel mashing lefties.
Valuable players such as Shane Bieber, Sam Hentges, Trevor Stephan, Andrew Walters, and others are currently on the shelf, getting ready to make an impact when they regain full health.
NEXT: Guardians Finally Reveal Options To Watch Games On TV
