Grading the Cleveland Guardians Opening Day roster by position
By Chad Porto
The Cleveland Guardians’ Opening Day roster broken down and graded.
It’s opening day! That means the Cleveland Guardians are officially back. The team is as young and inexperienced as ever but key trades over the last few years as reset the clock on this team. The young talent they acquired are ready to mature and should they live up to those lofty expectations, that means the team may be ready to not only get back to the playoffs but make some noise once they get there.
Last year, the team had their first losing season since Terry Francona joined their squad. Francona was out most of the year with a variety of injuries, as was Ace pitcher Shane Bieber. They’re both back and ready to get to work. Should both men remain healthy, there’s little doubt in my mind that this club could in fact get back to the playoffs with minimal additions to the roster.
The team also set up fans to enjoy Opening Day like never before thanks in part to the new deal that third basemen Jose Ramirez landed. He’ll now be under team control until he’s 35 years old. How his contract breaks down after the new extension kicks in will surely be interesting but he’s sticking around; something he, the team, and the fans were all hoping for.
This isn’t the same team as in 2017 that had World Series-or-bust aspirations attached to it but it is a team on the cusp of breaking out and showing the world what they can be. Hopefully, the next great players in Guardians’ history are on this squad and are about to prove to the world that they’ve arrived.
With that said, lets’ take a deeper look at the team.