4 Players on the Guardians' 40-Man Roster Who Don't Deserve a Role in 2024
By Tyler Maher
To say that the Cleveland Guardians' 2023 MLB campaign has been a disappointment would be an understatement.
After going 92-70 and being one win away from an ALCS appearance in 2022, the Guardians appeared to be on the upswing. Fast forward one year later, however, and Cleveland is missing the playoffs for the third time in five seasons while being on pace for fewer than 80 wins.
Needless to say, general manager Michael Chernoff has his work cut out for him this offseason. He's going to need to make some tough decisions, especially when it comes to the 40-man roster. There's no way the fanbase will accept an encore performance of whatever this season was.
Keeping that in mind, here are four Guardians on the 40-man roster who don't deserve a role in 2024.
4 Guardians Players Who Shouldn’t Be On 40-Man Roster in 2024
4. Michael Kelly
Pitching has been one of Cleveland's brighter spots in 2023, but Michael Kelly hasn't contributed much to that success.
The 31-year-old RHP hasn't looked all that great in relief, pitching to a 4.30 ERA over 14 2/3 innings across 13 appearances. It's not the biggest sample size, but there isn't much to like about his play when he's allowing 8.0 hits and 5.5 walks per nine innings.
After landing on the 15-day injured list due to a back injury, Kelly has been dreadful in his return. As of Sept. 21, he's given up 3 earned runs on 4 hits with 2 talks over a pair of appearances, resulting in a 13.50 ERA along the way.
He just doesn't look like he has the control to be an everyday MLB reliever. His minor-league play has been solid, but he doesn't have that next gear to compete with baseball's best hitters.
The Guardians can easily find better production than that internally and on the open market this offseason. Kelly is a replaceable arm and I'd be shocked if he's in the bullpen come next spring.