Locked On Guardians - Daily Podcast On The Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians made some somewhat surprising 40 man roster decisions on Rule 5 protection deadline day.   This episode discusses and makes sense of some of the Guardians surprising moves on the deadline, adding Petey Halpin and Nic Enright along with Franco Aleman and Doug Nikhazy.   We also react to the end of George Valera's tenure as a Guardians prospect as he was designated for assign...

It's Rule 5 protection day in Major League Baseball! Who will the Cleveland Guardians protect? Who will they leave out in the cold? Will they make any trades?     This show discusses who we think the Guardians will protect ahead of the Rule 5 draft on November 19, 2024, who is on the bubble, who won't be protected, who they'll need to move to make room and if they'll target other players in trades...

MLB Awards season is this week and a few Cleveland Guardians are up for awards.   This show discusses if Emmanuel Clase doesn't win the Cy Young win, who the next Guardian to win it will be, why Stephen Vogt was nominated for the Manager of the Year award, and why Cade Smith WASN'T nominated for Rookie of the Year.   We also discuss the Guardians 2017 international signing class and the failures o...

It seemed like the Cleveland Guardians had a strong offensive-catching prospect to graduate to the majors in 2023 in Bo Naylor. What is there to take away from his lack of offense in 2024 but improving his defense?   This episode discusses Bo Naylor's offensive struggles in 2024 but defensive gains, as well as Austin Hedges' role being helped by David Fry's breakout before he was hurt.   We also g...

Who could the Cleveland Guardians target in trades this off-season to upgrade their rotation with players other teams are looking to trade? And could they take advantage of other teams looking to shed salary for a chance?   On a Trade Talk Thursday edition of Locked On Guardians, we look at a pair of trade the Guardians could make with Arizona, who is getting calls about its starting pitching, and...

Who would the Cleveland Guardians protect in an expansion draft?     We explore the 15 most important players on the Guardians roster that they would protect and discuss the value of players like Andres Gimenez, Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen, Lane Thomas and more going into 2025 and long term among the next group of six they would would have to consider in the next wave.     0:36 Expansion Draft D...

The Cleveland Guardians need impact prospects with impact tools in order to graduate from their farm system or to trade from.     Who are those prospects with the most impactful tools in the Cleveland Guardians farm system? On a top 10 Tuesday edition of the show, we draft the top 10 prospect tools in the system and debate the impact, upside and risk of those tools and the Guardians draft and deve...

This episode discusses how the predictions for Shane Bieber and Matthew Boyd's free agent markets are all over the place and what that means for the Cleveland Guardians and what approach they may take to negotiating with either play to return to Cleveland.   We also talk about the very quiet GM meetings and why Cleveland could be in an interesting position on the trade market if teams resort to tr...

The Cleveland Guardians bullpen was their best success story in 2024, helping propel them to the ALCS.   On this episode, we look back at the surprising emergence of a dominant bullpen and reflect on how it all came together. We also discuss if the Guardians can afford to trade from their bullpen to shore up other areas of need on the roster.   We also get into some emerging relief prospects in th...

The Cleveland Guardians re-signed Austin Hedges on Nov. 6 This was an expected move, but what are the implications of bringing Hedges back on the Guardians payroll and roster space going into the rest of the offseason.   On this episode, we take at a look at the Guardians decision to bring back Hedges, why it makes sense but it might have some other impacts on their offseason needs.   Nov 6 was th...

What are the biggest 'what if's' in Cleveland baseball history when it comes to injury? Which prospects had big careers derailed by injuries before they got started? Which injuries cost Cleveland chances at the biggest wins? Which players missed had great careers in Cleveland cut short by injuries?    We discuss all of that on this episode.     Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! PrizePicks Dow...

We finally got the news that David Fry had Tommy John surgery and will be out 6-8 months as a hitter and possibly 12 month as a position player.   How does that impact the Cleveland Guardians offseason plans? Does it change how they handle Josh Naylor's situation? How do they add a bat to the lineup to make up for the loss of Fry and potentially Naylor?   This episode discuss that as well as other...

It's another Top 10 Tuesday here at Locked On Guardians.   This week, who are the top 10 draft busts in Cleveland baseball history going back to 2000?   This episode talks about who our Top 10 draft busts are in Cleveland baseball going back to 2000, including our methodology, dishonorable mentions, stories about the players we knew and more.       Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! PrizePicks...

What do the Cleveland Guardians need to prioritize this winter and who should be part of that priority list?   This episode discusses if the Guardians should/will give Shane Bieber the qualifying offer and if he should be a priority to bring back this offseason or should they opt to focus on Matthew Boyd or other pitching options?   We also discuss where some wiggle room could come on the roster a...

The World Series is over. The Los Angeles Dodgers are champions and the MLB offseason is here. How do the Guardians get over the hump from being division contenders to World Series contenders?   This episode debates what the Guardians roster and organization needs to get to another World Series.   We discuss if the Guardians can replicate their pitching factory days and if that's feasible and even...

MLB Trade rumors haven't quite heated up yet because the offseason hasn't fully started in earnest. But we've already seen what people thought was a rumor pop back up into circulation while we're waiting for the offseason to begin.   This episode looks back at some trade discussion that may have taken place in some capacity between the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago Cubs back in July and how legi...

Back in 1997/1998, Cleveland was very interested in trading for then-Expos ace Pedro Martinez.   What if Cleveland had pulled off a trade to land the Hall of Fame starter heading into 1998?   This is a What If Wednesday episode of Locked On Guardians that explores the what if of Cleveland possibly trading for Martinez.   Could they have won it all in 1998? Would they have kept him? Would they have...

Discover the most unforgettable moments in Cleveland Guardians baseball history as we rank the top 10 postseason home runs. From Tony Pena's iconic 1995 ALDS walk-off to Rajai Davis' electrifying 2016 World Series game-tying shot. This episode discusses the top playoff home runs in Cleveland baseball history, ranking our top 10 and listeners top 10 postseason homers as well.   Tune in for our firs...

The Cleveland Guardians came into 2024 looking for an answer at Shortstop.   Did they find one?   This episode tries to answer the question of what we learned about the Guardians shortstops in 2024 as we start out positional review series.   Did Brayan Rocchio underperform expectations or was he a victim of prospect overhype?     Did the Guardians ever see enough from Gabriel Arias?   Which SS pro...

The Cincinnati Reds hired now ex-Cleveland Guardians hitting coach Chris Valaika to be their Director of Hitting and Major League hitting coach.   This episode dives into what the true value of hitting coaches is and how much credit/blame should be assigned to them, what this means for the Guardians and who might replace Valaika now.   It's also a half-mailbag edition of the show, so we take your...

One of the top questions the Guardians will face this offseason is Josh Naylor's pending free agency.   This episode debates if the Guardians should run it back with Josh Naylor in 2025, or could they find a way to improve the team while trading him.   The show also gets into Chase DeLauter's future, discussing his current time in the AFL in 2024 and if they need to keep the path to right field cl...

The Cleveland Guardians held their end of the season media session with plenty of questions that came with some updates, thoughts and a few vague answers.   This episode discusses our takeaways from that media session with reactions to answers from the Guardians on offseason plans to supplement the roster vs. keeping playing time open for young players, if there's mutual interest in bringing back...

The offseason is now upon the Cleveland Guardians.     This episode starts with a post-mortem look at the 2024 season and why the end of baseball season is always tough, and why 2025 will be different for the Cleveland Guardians for a number of complicated reasons.   The show also looks ahead to the Guardians end of season media availability in October 22, guessing which questions and topics will...

The Guardians 2024 season is over after the ALCS loss to the Yankees. This episode looks back at the key plays and decisions that went wrong for the Guardians that held them back from advancing to the World Series.   The show discusses the lack of hitting with runners in scoring position with many chances, asking players to do things they hadn't done before, not trusting the starters or other reli...

The Guardians 2024 season ends, losing 4-1 in the ALCS to the New York Yankees. A listener focused live-reaction show after the Game 5. The show discussed Tanner Bibee's big time performance, a huge bullpen bounce back, mistakes that were made that cost the Guardians the game and series. We touched on where the Guardians came up short in the four losses and a little bit about the 2024 season as a...