The Cleveland Guardians have had a better off-season than you think.
Yes, they traded an important source of power in Josh Naylor.
And yes, they also flipped fan favorite and defensive star Andres Giménez.
However, the Guards have also been able to replenish their farm, re-sign ace Shane Bieber, bring in some much-needed pitching reinforcements in Luis L. Ortiz and Slade Cecconi, and create some financial room.
That last item, creating financial room, is much, much easier to do when the assets that are traded are highly effective players: everybody would want them if that’s the case.
However, Cleveland and president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti removed almost $100 million allocated to a player who had become an offensive liability (Giménez).
He also worked some magic on Friday, trading Myles Straw: a player who had been so bad with the bat that he was waived before the start of the 2024 campaign and eventually returned to the organization on a minor league deal, spending the majority of the year at Triple-A Columbus.
Antonetti got the Toronto Blue Jays to cover the majority of the money owed to Straw over the next two seasons.
“Cleveland is covering $3.75 million of the remaining $15.5 million owed to Myles Straw, source tells me & @ShiDavidi. Also worth noting: Straw’s money counts towards the Blue Jays’ CBT calculations regardless of whether he’s on their 40-man,” Blue Jays insider Ben Nicholson-Smith posted on X.
Cleveland is covering $3.75 million of the remaining $15.5 million owed to Myles Straw, source tells me & @ShiDavidi.
Also worth noting: Straw's money counts towards the Blue Jays' CBT calculations regardless of whether he's on their 40-man.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) January 17, 2025
Cleveland took advantage of Toronto’s desperation to add some extra international bonus pool money in their quest for Roki Sasaki.
They sent $2 million in bonus slot money to Toronto plus Straw, but it was a masterful use of resources given that Cleveland had already signed 25 international prospects.
They didn’t really need to add more: it’s even possible that they left that money untouched in case one of the teams in contention for Sasaki came calling.
To make it all worth it, however, the Guardians must re-invest the money on the roster, whether it is on free agent hitters or pitchers or a contract extension.
Will that be the case?
NEXT: Guardians Send Center Fielder To Blue Jays In Trade
