The Cleveland Guardians are just knocking on the door of World Series contention. They made it all the way to the ALCS in Stephen Vogt’s first season in charge of the team, and they won the AL Central division again last season.
However, they clearly need to add more firepower to their offense. They ranked near the bottom in most offensive categories last season, and they have yet to address most of those needs.
With that in mind, Guardians insider Mark Feinsand dug deep into the free-agent pool to try to find the right guy to pursue. In his latest column, he made a case for the Guardians to go after former Baltimore Orioles star Austin Hays:
“Hays’ best seasons came between 2021 and ‘23 in Baltimore, but the 30-year-old had a solid year with the Reds in 2025. His 15 home runs, 64 RBIs and .768 OPS in 103 games would have made him the leader in all three categories in the Guardians’ outfield, as Cleveland ranked last in the AL in outfield OPS (.629),” Feinsand wrote.
Hays has been tangled up with the Guardians for weeks now. He’s the type of low-risk/high-reward pickup this team usually makes.
It shouldn’t take much money or a long-term contract to lure him to Progressive Field. Given the way this front office usually operates, that’s usually one of the main things.
Of course, the fans would always rather watch this team go after the likes of Kyle Schwarber or Pete Alonso, but that’s simply not realistic. Hays is one of the most feasible targets, and he’d bring some experience and an offensive punch to the table here.
The Guardians aren’t that far off from being a legitimate contender. They just need to make the right tweaks to their roster, and they will be a force to be reckoned with.
NEXT: Guardians Given Notable Grade For Key Offseason Move
