<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-jose-ramirez-admission-mlb-opponents');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians’ Jose Ramirez drops admission that will frighten all MLB opponents');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Jose-Ramirezs-confident-message-amid-ALCS-deficit.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians’ Jose Ramirez drops admission that will frighten all MLB opponents</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-27T11:57:46-07:00">March 27th, 11:57am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-27T11:57:46-07:00">March 27th, 11:57am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cleveland Guardians star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-jose-ramirez-mookie-betts-freddie-freeman-comparison">Jose Ramirez is regarded as one of the best players in MLB</a>. Ramirez may be able to take a step forward in 2025 based on <a href="https://x.com/ZackMeisel/status/1904969393580158994" rel="noopener">his latest admission</a>, via Zack Meisel of The Athletic.</p><p>“I lost fat and increased muscle, so I have the same weight I finished at last season, but a different body,” Ramirez said.</p><p>Ramirez was then asked if he made the change in order to have a 50/50 (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases) season.</p><p>“I would love to do 100/100, but the game isn’t easy,” the Guardians third baseman said. “I’ll do my best.”</p><p>A 100/100 campaign may be possible in MLB The Show (maybe?) but the chances of it happening in real life are extremely slim. Reaching the 40/40 mark is difficult enough.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/dodgers-news-shohei-ohtani-50-50-season">Shohei Ohtani became the only player in MLB history</a> to enter the 50/50 club in 2024. Meanwhile, only six players have reached 40 stolen bases and 40 home runs in a single season (Ohtani, Ronald Acuna Jr., Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano). Jose Ramirez came extremely close to joining the club in 2024, though, finishing the year with 41 stolen bases and 39 home runs.</p><p>Perhaps Ramirez’s admission about increasing muscle will help him accomplish the feat during the upcoming ’25 campaign. The 32-year-old will be regarded as a superstar regardless of whether or not he reaches the 40/40 club, but it certainly is possible given how close he came in 2024.</p><p>Ramirez’s primary focus is on helping the Guardians win games, however. Cleveland has not earned a World Series victory since 1948. With Ramirez leading the way, the Guardians reached the American League Championship Series last year. They were ultimately defeated by the New York Yankees, though.</p><p>Cleveland has come close to ending the World Series drought over the years (reached Game 7 of the Fall Classic in both 1997 and 2016). The Guardians just can’t seem to get the job done in October, though. Perhaps that will change soon with Jose Ramirez on the roster.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians’ Jose Ramirez drops admission that will frighten all MLB opponents

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-tanner-bibee-scratched-opening-day-start');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Guardians’ Tanner Bibee was scratched from Opening Day start');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Why-Guardians-Tanner-Bibee-was-scratched-from-Opening-Day-start.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Guardians’ Tanner Bibee was scratched from Opening Day start</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-27T09:39:59-07:00">March 27th, 9:39am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-27T09:51:41-07:00">March 27th, 9:51am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians are set to play the Kansas City Royals on Opening Day. Tanner Bibee was expected to draw the Opening Day start, but he reportedly <a href="https://x.com/ZackMeisel/status/1905289934665048400" rel="noopener">won’t pitch</a> on Thursday due to an illness, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic.</p><p>“Tanner Bibee will not start today for the Guardians. He’s sick. Ben Lively will start instead,” Meisel wrote on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Royals broadcaster Joel Goldberg reported that Bibee is <a href="https://x.com/goldbergkc/status/1905287832563822751" rel="noopener">dealing with food poisoning</a>.</p><p>“Tanner Bibee scratched due to food poisoning. Ben Lively will get the opening day nod for the Guardians in KC,” Goldberg wrote on X.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-tanner-bibee-contract-extension">Bibee and the Guardians recently agreed to a contract extension</a>. Shane Bieber still features Cy Young potential, but Cleveland seems to view Bibee as their ace of the future. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-tanner-bibee-inspirational-message-signing-contract-extension">Bibee is prepared to lead the Guardians</a> for years to come.</p><p>On Thursday, though, it will be Ben Lively taking the mound. The Guardians are certainly hopeful that Bibee can return as soon as possible. They will proceed with caution, though, as the season gets underway, as there is no need to rush the starting pitcher back into action.</p><h2><b>Guardians’ 2025 season outlook</b></h2><p>Cleveland upset expectations a season ago and reached the American League Championship Series. It was a successful first season for Stephen Vogt as Cleveland’s manager.</p><p>The Guardians will have increased competition in the American League Central, though. The division was among the worst in the sport a few years ago, but now the AL Central is becoming quite competitive. The Royals, Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins are all postseason contenders alongside the Guardians.</p><p>As a result, the Guardians-Royals opening series in Kansas City projects to be exciting. Bibee’s presence will be missed on Opening Day, but the series itself should still be intriguing to follow.</p><p>Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 4:10 PM EST.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Guardians’ Tanner Bibee was scratched from Opening Day start

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-nolan-jones-vocal-reuniting-guardians-rockies-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nolan Jones vocal on reuniting with Guardians after Rockies trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nolan-Jones-vocal-on-reuniting-with-Cleveland-after-Rockies-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Nolan Jones vocal on reuniting with Guardians after Rockies trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-27T00:41:31-07:00">March 27th, 12:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-27T00:41:31-07:00">March 27th, 12:41am</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-nearing-trade-rockies-reunite-with-outfielder">Nolan Jones was pulled from the Rockies’ Cactus League lineup</a> last Saturday, he didn’t know where he was going—only that he was being traded. Wandering the complex “shook,” the 26-year-old right fielder <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/nolan-jones-joins-guardians-ahead-of-opening-day" rel="noopener">spent nearly an hour</a> trying to process the news and guess his destination. The Cleveland Guardians? He ruled them out.</p><p>“I did not see myself coming back here,” Jones admitted. “For no particular reason — I just thought, I was traded from here already.”</p><p>Yet just hours later, after a FaceTime call with close friend and former Guardians teammate Tyler Freeman, the picture started to come together. Freeman had also been pulled from his lineup in Cleveland and told he’d been traded—but not to whom. Jones told him, “I might have an idea where you’re going.”</p><p>By that evening, the trade was official: the Guardians were bringing Jones back, sending Freeman to Colorado in a rare one-for-one swap of two young players with ties to both organizations. For Jones, who was drafted by Cleveland in the second round in 2016 and debuted with the club in 2022, it was a full-circle moment.</p><h2><b>Nolan Jones traded for former Guardians teammates</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nolan-Jones.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>“It’s been an absolute whirlwind,” Jones said. “It’s very nice that I was able to walk into a clubhouse and kind of feel like I never left.”</p><p>After a breakout rookie year in 2023 where he slashed .297/.389/.542 with 20 homers and 20 steals, Jones battled through a back injury that derailed his 2024 season, limiting him to 79 games and a .227 average. This offseason, he focused on rehab and physical therapy—spending four days a week in recovery while also enjoying time with his young daughter. “My body feels great right now,” he said.</p><p>That’s good news for the Guardians, who are banking on Jones to provide left-handed power and stability in right field. He’ll be part of a platoon with Jhonkensy Noel, manager Stephen Vogt confirmed, though Jones is expected to get the bulk of the reps against right-handed pitching.</p><p>“We felt like it was an opportunity to add a left-handed impact-type bat… which we felt like we really needed,” GM Mike Chernoff said. “We obviously know Nolan really well from his time here… which probably allowed us to act a little bit more quickly than we typically would.”</p><p>Team president Chris Antonetti echoed that sentiment: “Our goal is to try to help keep him out on the field and be as productive as he can.”</p><p>Jones’ return was unexpected, but it’s clear the Guardians see real potential in his bat and presence. “Sometimes you just feel like you’re back at home,” he said. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-cleveland-surprising-triston-mckenzie-decision-2025">With Opening Day around the corner, Jones isn’t just back in Cleveland.</a> He’s back where he belongs—and ready to prove he should’ve never left.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nolan Jones vocal on reuniting with Guardians after Rockies trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/mistrettas-mlb-musings-paul-skenes-cy-young-season-2025-yankees');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mistretta’s MLB Musings: Predicting Paul Skenes’ electrifying Cy Young season in 2025');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Mistrettas-Musings-Predicting-Paul-Skenes-electrifying-Cy-Young-season-in-2025.jpg"></figure><h1>Mistretta’s MLB Musings: Predicting Paul Skenes’ electrifying Cy Young season in 2025</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-24T08:38:28-07:00">March 24th, 8:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-24T12:34:04-07:00">March 24th, 12:34pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Hello everyone, welcome to the first edition of Mistretta’s MLB Musings. In my weekly column (published every Monday), we will be discussing news, analysis, opinions and more from around the MLB world. Today, let’s take a deep dive into Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-drops-firm-take-pirates-2025-outlook">Paul Skenes’ chances of earning his first Cy Young award</a> in 2025.</p><h2><b>Paul Skenes’ time to shine</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Paul-Skenes-pitches-during-spring-training-2.jpg"><figcaption>Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-opening-day-starter-video">Skenes was recently given the Pirates’ Opening Day starting pitcher honor</a>. He is the reigning National League Rookie of the Year winner, but there have been plenty of flame-throwing hurlers with potential in recent seasons. So why is Skenes different?</p><p>The 2023 first overall pick certainly throws the baseball hard. There is no denying that fact. What sets Skenes apart, though, is his ability to command the ball.</p><p>See, many young hard-throwing pitchers lack control on the mound. It’s anyone’s guess where the ball will end up once it leaves their hand. Skenes — much like a veteran painter — grabs his brush and dots the corners. He has the baseball on a string.</p><p>Don’t believe me? Well, let’s examine a recent scenario from spring training during a Pirates’ game against the Baltimore Orioles.</p><p><a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1903495421311246437" rel="noopener">Video via</a> MLB:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">This sequence from Paul Skenes to start the day is downright filthy 😱 <a href="https://t.co/4V1o0qd8VG">pic.twitter.com/4V1o0qd8VG</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1903495421311246437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>I want you to watch where the Pirates catcher places his glove, and then watch where the ball ends up.</p><p>The first fastball lands down and away from the left-handed hitter, which is exactly where the catcher placed his glove. The second, also a heater, is placed in the same location. Skenes then climbs the ladder and freezes Orioles slugger Colton Cowser with a high fastball.</p><p>Oh, and each pitch was at least 98 MPH. Yes, Paul Skenes is the real deal.</p><p>Sure, there are other pitchers with better command than Skenes. There aren’t many 22-year-olds who can throw absolute gas while painting the sides of the strike zone, though.</p><p>Skenes finished third in National League Cy Young voting a season ago, trailing only Zack Wheeler and 2024 NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale. Finishing third as a rookie suggests that Skenes is close to taking the next step and winning the award soon.</p><p>And I think he’s ready to take that step in 2025. Skenes wants to help the Pirates return to the postseason. He remains cool, calm and collected on the mound, but he also has the motivation to take care of business.</p><p>Pittsburgh still has some uncertainty on the roster, but Skenes is going to do everything he can to lead the Pirates back to contention during the ’25 campaign.</p><h2><b>What’s new in MLB world? Yankees can still compete despite injuries</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Gerrit-Cole-during-spring-training.jpg"><figcaption>Dave Nelson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The New York Yankees are already dealing with a plethora of injuries. Ace <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/yankees-news-gerrit-cole-miss-2025-season-tommy-john-surgery">Gerrit Cole is expected to miss the season due to Tommy John surgery</a>. Veteran designated hitter <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/yankees-news-giancarlo-stanton-injury-timeline-uncertain">Giancarlo Stanton is dealing with elbow injuries</a> and his injury timeline remains uncertain.</p><p>The Yankees have question marks to say the least, but this is a ball club that should not be counted out. Aaron Judge is one of the best players in the sport, while Cody Bellinger seems to be on the verge of a big campaign with his new team following his strong spring training.</p><p>Young players such as Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells may also make an impact. New York’s bullpen will help matters. The rotation still features quality hurlers like Carlos Rodon and Max Fried.</p><p>It has become easy to doubt the Yankees given the injuries, but it would not be surprising to see them make another competitive run.</p><h2><b>More MLB news/analysis: Reunion in Cleveland?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nolan-Jones-swings-a-bat-during-spring-training-game.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>– In other news, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-nearing-trade-rockies-reunite-with-outfielder">Cleveland Guardians recently traded infielder Tyler Freeman for outfielder Nolan Jones</a>. Jones was once a highly-regarded prospect with Cleveland, but was later moved to the Colorado Rockies. Now, Jones is set to return to the Guardians.</p><p>– Speaking of the Guardians, the team recently announced that Triston McKenzie will begin the season in the bullpen. In similar fashion to Jones, McKenzie was once a top prospect with the Guardians. Now, his future with Cleveland is fairly uncertain. Perhaps McKenzie can get back on track in a bullpen role.</p><p>– The Yankees <a href="https://x.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1904174639514865743" rel="noopener">agreed to</a> a contract with veteran left-handed pitcher Ryan Yarbrough on Monday, Robert Murray of FanSided reports. Yarbrough adds deception as a left-handed arm. He features both relief and starting experience, and he could prove to be an underrated addition for the injury-plagued Yankees.</p><p>– Ranger Suarez, an MLB All-Star in 2024 with the Philadelphia Phillies, is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-phillies-all-star-pitcher-likely-start-season-on-il" rel="noopener">expected to begin the 2025 season on the injured list</a>. The team is hopeful Suarez can return sooner rather than later.</p><p>– Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts did not play in the Tokyo Series due to an illness. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-mookie-betts-weight-admission-amid-illness-dodgers-fans-concerned">Betts recently revealed that he is 20 pounds lighter</a> than his normal playing weight. There is increasing concern over the issue. The Dodgers will continue to closely monitor the situation.</p><p>– This next one is more of an opinion rather than news, but Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert could emerge as an American League Cy Young contender in 2025. Much like Paul Skenes, Gilbert will pitch on Opening Day and his team clearly believes in his ceiling. Don’t be surprised if Gilbert enjoys a big season.</p><p>– A Boston <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/boston-red-sox/mlb-rumors-red-sox-garrett-crochet-contract-extension-harsh-reality">Red Sox-Garrett Crochet contract extension seems unlikely</a> to come to fruition before the 2025 campaign. Chris Cotillo of MassLive <a href="https://x.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1903251486022275576" rel="noopener">first reported the news</a>. Anything can happen, but Crochet is probably going to enter the regular season without an extension.</p><p>– Finally, let’s talk about the San Francisco Giants. Spring training standings don’t mean anything, but San Francisco does currently hold the best record in the Cactus League with a 19-6 mark. Perhaps the team’s strong spring will give them a boost of confidence in 2025. The Giants have played a rather mediocre brand of baseball in recent seasons (aside from that random incredible 2021 campaign), so San Francisco could unquestionably use a strong 2025 performance.</p><p><i>Joey Mistretta’s “Mistretta’s MLB Musings” provides the latest news and analysis from around the MLB world. Be sure to check in every Monday to read new editions of the weekly column. </i></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mistretta’s MLB Musings: Predicting Paul Skenes’ electrifying Cy Young season in 2025

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-cleveland-surprising-triston-mckenzie-decision-2025');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians make surprising Triston McKenzie decision ahead of 2025 campaign');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Guardians-news-Cleveland-makes-surprising-Triston-McKenzie-decision-ahead-of-2025-campaign.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians make surprising Triston McKenzie decision ahead of 2025 campaign</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-23T12:47:51-07:00">March 23rd, 12:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-23T12:47:51-07:00">March 23rd, 12:47pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians are defending their American League Central title from 2024. Their rotation will be the biggest improvement, with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-guardians-fans-will-love-shane-biebers-latest-move">Shane Bieber returning from injury this summer</a>. Triston McKenzie is healthy for the Guardians this year, but they will start him in the bullpen. The Athletic’s Zack Meisel<a href="https://x.com/zackmeisel/status/1903844837931045257?s=46&amp;t=t0whIKQHb8OeDuFs8twM-g" rel="noopener"> has the latest</a> on Cleveland’s Opening Day roster from Goodyear.</p><p>“Logan Allen will be the Guardians’ fifth starter. Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Luis Ortiz, and Ben Lively round out the rest of the rotation,” Meisel reported. “Triston McKenzie will begin the year in the bullpen.”</p><p>McKenzie made 16 starts for the Guardians last year, posted a 5.11 ERA, and walked a team-high 49 batters. At 27 years old, he is a valuable piece for Cleveland. While starting the season in the bullpen is disappointing, his ability to start games will be key this season.</p><p>The Guardians do not know what they will get from Bieber or when he will return. He remains on track to return during the season but anything can happen when recovering from Tommy John surgery.</p><p>Tanner Bibee will be a key starter for the Guardians without Beiber and McKenzie in the rotation. He was just <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-tanner-bibee-inspirational-message-signing-contract-extension">rewarded with a five-year extension that kicks in next year</a>.</p><h2><b>What is next for the Guardians and Triston McKenzie?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Triston-McKenzie-with-Cleveland-Guardians.jpg"><figcaption>Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>McKenzie showed promise in his first three years in the Major Leagues. He made 64 appearances and 60 starts with a 3.68 ERA and 3.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. But the last two seasons have been poor and injury-riddled. Thankfully for Cleveland, he has made it out of spring training healthy. Getting his confidence back in the bullpen may be the answer for manager Stephen Vogt.</p><p>The biggest loss for the Guardians this offseason was<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/diamondbacks-news-acquires-josh-naylor-trade-guardians"> Josh Naylor, who they traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks</a>. They picked up a minor-league pitcher and a competitive-balance pick for the deal. They signed 38-year-old Carlos Santana for his third stint in Cleveland.</p><p>With less pop in the lineup, the pitching is important this year for the Guardians. Last year, they were able to win their division without Beiber and mostly without McKenzie. But the Royals, Tigers, and Twins are all fielding competitive teams this year. They will need to be a more well-rounded operation to win the division and get back to the ALCS.</p><p>Bibee will take the hill in Kansas City on Opening Day, March 27, for the Guardians. With fewer division games than in years past, everyone is important, even the ones in March.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians make surprising Triston McKenzie decision ahead of 2025 campaign

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-tanner-bibee-inspirational-message-signing-contract-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'Tanner Bibee’s inspirational message after signing Guardians contract extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Guardians-news-Tanner-Bibee-s-inspirational-message-after-signing-contract-extension.jpg"></figure><h1>Tanner Bibee’s inspirational message after signing Guardians contract extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-22T17:41:55-07:00">March 22nd, 5:41pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-22T17:41:55-07:00">March 22nd, 5:41pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2025 MLB Opening Day is less than a week away. But before that, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-tanner-bibee-contract-extension">Cleveland Guardians gave their Opening Day starter Tanner Bibee something to be inspired by</a>, and it came in the form of a five-year contract extension, reportedly worth at least $48 million.</p><p>“I feel like I just sit and keep going,” Bibee said when <a href="https://x.com/DreKnott/status/1903575113288798287" rel="noopener">asked for his viewpoint</a> on his signing a new contract (h/t Andre Knott of Fox 8 News).</p><p>“I mean, I wasn’t really necessarily a super high pick out of the draft. I mean, I feel like I kind of really leaned into what Cleveland kind of develops into. And I feel like it was obviously very mutually beneficial. And I feel like I got to a point where I kind of was able to blossom a little bit, I think, in 2022. So I think I’ve just kind of used that from here on out.”</p><p>Tanner Bibee, who just turned 26 years old earlier this March, was a fifth-round pick by the Guardians in the 2021 MLB draft. He made his debut in the big leagues in the 2023 campaign in which he went 10-4 with an impressive 2.98 ERA and a 143 ERA+ through 25 starts.</p><p>Bibee regressed the following season, going 12-8 on the mound while posting a 3.47 ERA with a 117 ERA+. So far in this MLB career, Bibee has a 2.7 percent home run rate and a<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bibeeta01.shtml" rel="noopener"> 26.3 percent strikeout rate,</a> per Baseball Reference.</p><p>According to MLB Trade Rumors, Bibbe’s newest deal with the Guarduans is the “<a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/03/guardians-extend-tanner-bibee.html" rel="noopener">third-most money ever given to a pitcher</a> with between two years and two years and 171 days of service time.”</p><p>With Shane Bieber still on the mend from a Tommy John surgery, Bibbe is <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/guardians" rel="noopener">expected to anchor</a> the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-tanner-bibee-gets-100-real-guardians-strong-pitching-secret">Guardians’ rotation</a> that also features the likes of Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen and Luis Ortiz. In the 2024 MLB season, the Guardians finished just 24th in the big leagues with a 4.49 ERA and 24th with a 4.51 ERA.</p><p>Bibee will get to showcase his stuff right from the get-go of the 2025 season, as he is expected to start for the Guardians on Opening Day this coming Thursday when Cleveland kicks off a three-game series on the road at Kauffman Stadium versus Bobby Witt Jr. and the Kansas City Royals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tanner Bibee’s inspirational message after signing Guardians contract extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-nearing-trade-rockies-reunite-with-outfielder');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians complete trade with Rockies to reunite with outfielder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Guardians-news-Cleveland-nearing-trade-with-Rockies-to-reunite-with-outfielder.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians complete trade with Rockies to reunite with outfielder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-22T16:51:05-07:00">March 22nd, 4:51pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-22T17:36:38-07:00">March 22nd, 5:36pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians have <a href="https://x.com/tim_stebbins/status/1903593804436779325" rel="noopener">completed a trade</a> with the Colorado Rockies that will reunite them with outfielder Nolan Jones in exchange for utility man Tyler Freeman, per MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins (originally reported by Thomas Harding).</p><p>The organization that first drafted Jones in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft is ready to give him another look. Cleveland traded him for infielder Juan Brito in November of 2022 but is clearly pleased with the progress he has made in Colorado.</p><p>Despite a brutal and injury-riddled 2024 season, which saw the 26-year-old bat just .227 with with three home runs in 79 games, Jones has flashed a great deal of talent in the past. Plenty of people expected a genuine breakout campaign with the Rockies last year, or even a possible All-Star selection, but maybe he needs a change of scenery to unlock his full abilities.</p><h2><b>Guardians look to round out roster before 2025 season</b></h2><p>Although the Guardians initially moved off of Jones, they have a track record of developing productive position players. He can provide added pop to a lineup that was looking quite thin following the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/diamondbacks-news-acquires-josh-naylor-trade-guardians">Josh Naylor trade</a> and David Fry’s elbow injury. Even if the Pennsylvania native does not return to his 2023 form (.297 batting average, 20 homers in 106 games), he seemingly carries a higher ceiling than the player Cleveland shipped out to the National League.</p><p>Freeman, a second-rounder himself, has a .223/.304/.329/.632 slash line through 206 games. He is still only 25 years of age, though, so perhaps the Rockies believe he can figure out something at the plate. His versatility should come in handy as well, but fans surely expected a bit more upside in a Nolan Jones trade package.</p><p>While Colorado continues its long rebuild, the wheels are turning in the Guardians’ front office. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti struck <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-tanner-bibee-contract-extension">an agreement with starting pitcher Tanner Bibee</a> on a five-year contract extension and then quickly shifted his attention to getting a deal done with the Rockies. Regardless of how the franchise’s offseason approach works out, it appears motivated to stay in the American League playoff conversation.</p><p>Jones does not have much time to adjust to his new reality. Opening Day is on March 27.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians complete trade with Rockies to reunite with outfielder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-tanner-bibee-contract-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians, Tanner Bibee agree to big contract extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Guardians-news-Cleveland-Tanner-Bibee-agree-to-big-contract-extension.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians, Tanner Bibee agree to big contract extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-22T12:36:48-07:00">March 22nd, 12:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-22T12:54:53-07:00">March 22nd, 12:54pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cleveland Guardians 2025 Opening Day starting pitcher Tanner Bibee has been rewarded with a new contract extension. According to Tim Stebbins of MLB.com, Bibee and the Guardians <a href="https://x.com/tim_stebbins/status/1903525985372266914" rel="noopener">are in agreement</a> on a five-year contract extension.</p><p>“News: The Guardians have agreed to a five-year contract extension with Tanner Bibee through 2029 that includes a club option for 2030,” Stebbins wrote on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports that the <a href="https://x.com/ZackMeisel/status/1903527356335063261" rel="noopener">deal is worth at least $48 million</a>.</p><p>Bibee was under team control through 2028. The new contract takes care of his upcoming arbitration years and adds at least one additional season, possibly two depending on the Guardians’ decision on the club option in 2030.</p><p>Shane Bieber is one of the best pitchers in the game when healthy. Bieber, however, missed most of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery. He is still recovering from the surgery and it remains to be seen when he will return.</p><p>The Guardians are hopeful that Bibee and Bieber can form a reliable front of the starting rotation at some point this season. Bieber still features ace-caliber potential, but Cleveland also believes in Bibee. He is likely going to be the team’s ace of the future.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-shane-bieber-cleveland-mlb-free-agency-reunion">Bieber re-signed with the Guardians this past offseason</a>. If Bieber can return and pitch well, the Guardians will feature a pair of ace-caliber hurlers in the rotation.</p><h2><b>Tanner Bibee looking to have big 2025 season with Guardians</b></h2><p>Bibee finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2023 after pitching to a 2.98 ERA in 25 starts. In 2024, the right-handed pitcher turned in a 3.47 ERA across 31 starts. He also struck out 187 hitters in 173.2 innings on the mound.</p><p>It would not be surprising to see Tanner Bibee take another step forward in his career in 2025. He could even earn Cy Young consideration if he pitches up to his potential.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians, Tanner Bibee agree to big contract extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-stephen-vogt-admission-catcher');   ga('set', 'title', 'Stephen Vogt’s ‘phenomenal’ admission on catcher will excite fans');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Guardians-news-Stephen-Vogts-phenomenal-admission-on-catcher-will-excite-fans.jpg"></figure><h1>Stephen Vogt’s ‘phenomenal’ admission on catcher will excite fans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-22T02:02:34-07:00">March 22nd, 2:02am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-22T02:02:34-07:00">March 22nd, 2:02am</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians have seen exceptional performances from several unexpected players this spring. However, when manager Stephen Vogt was asked to highlight one standout, he gave a surprising answer: Bo Naylor.</p><p>“Guardians manager Stephen Vogt on a camp standout: ‘If one sticks out, it’s Bo Naylor. Bo Naylor has had a wonderful winter, and he’s had a phenomenal spring. He is swinging the bat completely in the right direction,’” according to Camryn Justice of News 5 Cleveland <a href="https://www.twitter.com/camijustice/status/1903120960053444821">in a post on</a> X (formerly Twitter).</p><p>Not long ago, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-bo-naylor-barges-into-manny-ramirez-territory-no-one-had-reached-in-nearly-two-decades">Bo Naylor ranked among the Cleveland Guardians’ top prospects</a> and was seen as a key part of their future. Throughout his Minor League career, he displayed the potential to be a reliable defender with above-average power at the plate—a highly sought-after skill set for an MLB catcher.</p><p>Yet, he has struggled to showcase that talent consistently in the majors. Catchers juggle more responsibilities than most positions, a challenge Stephen Vogt often highlights due to his own experience behind the plate. Now, with a few big-league seasons under his belt, Bo Naylor is starting to find his rhythm in the Cactus League, hinting that he may be on the verge of a breakout year.</p><h2><b>Bo Naylor’s numbers so far</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Guardians-news-Stephen-Vogts-phenomenal-admission-on-catcher-will-excite-fans-1.jpg"><figcaption>David Dermer-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Through 10 games and 28 at-bats, Naylor is slashing .250/.300/.571 with an .871 OPS, including three home runs. This is precisely the kind of production Cleveland hopes to see from him. He’s not the type of hitter who will maintain a .300 average or make frequent contact, but the Guardians need him to stay patient, wait for his pitch, and capitalize—something he’s executed well this spring.</p><p>Naylor’s OPS sits at .703 this spring, dipping from .746 after an 0-for-3 outing. Spring training stats can fluctuate drastically due to the limited sample size, which is why performance evaluation goes beyond the numbers.</p><p>His swing looks noticeably improved from last year, and his confidence is showing with three home runs this spring. All signs point to Naylor bouncing back offensively after a disappointing 2024, when he hit 13 homers but managed just a .614 OPS. His rookie season in 2023 was far more promising, with an .809 OPS, and his minor league track record suggests he has the potential to be a reliable offensive contributor.</p><p>Consistency is key, as he works to balance his responsibilities behind the plate with his offensive production. It’s a demanding role, but Naylor’s talent and work ethic give him every chance to succeed.</p><p>If Naylor continues delivering quality at-bats, adds much-needed power to the bottom half of Cleveland’s lineup, and makes strides defensively, there’s every reason to believe he can break out in 2025.</p><p>The Guardians kick off their regular season on March 27 with a matchup against the Kansas City Royals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Stephen Vogt’s ‘phenomenal’ admission on catcher will excite fans

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-tanner-bibee-gets-100-real-guardians-strong-pitching-secret');   ga('set', 'title', 'Tanner Bibee gets 100% real on Guardian’s strong pitching secret');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Tanner-Bibee-gets-100-real-on-Clevelands-strong-pitching-secret-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Tanner Bibee gets 100% real on Guardian’s strong pitching secret</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-14T01:33:02-07:00">March 14th, 1:33am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-14T01:33:02-07:00">March 14th, 1:33am</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/cleveland-guardians-2025-over-under-win-total-prediction-odds-pick">Cleveland Guardians enter the 2025 season as reigning AL Central champions</a>, but you wouldn’t know it from early projections. According to both Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA standings and FanGraphs, Cleveland isn’t favored to repeat. In fact, they’re projected to finish as low as fourth place, trailing the Twins, Royals, and Tigers. But Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee <a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/guardians/news/guardians-pitcher-tanner-bibee-scoffs-at-al-central-projections" rel="noopener">isn’t concerned.</a></p><p>“Projections are projections,” Bibee said in a recent interview. “No one predicted what we were going to do last year and we did it.”</p><p>The Guardians defied expectations in 2024, finishing 92-69 and advancing to the ALCS before falling to the New York Yankees. With a largely young roster and first-year manager Stephen Vogt at the helm, Cleveland proved doubters wrong. Now, Bibee believes the same underdog mentality can fuel another deep run.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"It's the mindset… the way they instill confidence in what you do well."</p><p>RHP Tanner Bibee shares why the <a href="https://twitter.com/CleGuardians?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CleGuardians</a> develop starting pitching so well and how he carried that into a strong Postseason.</p><p>MLB Network + <a href="https://twitter.com/TMobile?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TMobile</a> <a href="https://t.co/y5J7qaiYLO">pic.twitter.com/y5J7qaiYLO</a></p><p>— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1899985006958620740?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Tanner Bibee and the Guardians look to dominate AL Central</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Tanner-Bibee-gets-100-real-on-Clevelands-strong-pitching-secret-2.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>“The past few years we’ve always been in a position to prove people wrong,” Bibee said. “It’s a lot easier to play the game like that than when you’re the lead dog. It’s a lot more fun when you end up on top when you were supposed to be the underdog.”</p><p>That mindset is a hallmark of the Guardians’ culture, particularly when it comes to their renowned pitching development. Bibee, who went 12-8 last season with a 3.47 ERA and 1.12 WHIP, credited the organization’s ability to instill confidence in its pitchers.</p><p>“It’s the mindset,” Bibee said in an interview with MLB Network. “The way they instill confidence in what you do well.”</p><p>The Guardians’ pitching depth will be crucial in 2025, especially after losing key position players in the offseason. The trades of Andrés Giménez and Josh Naylor created holes in the lineup, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-reunite-with-carlos-santana-after-josh-naylor-trade">but the team added veteran Carlos Santana to fill the first base role.</a> Meanwhile, José Ramírez and Steven Kwan remain as cornerstones of the offense.</p><p>Ultimately, the Guardians know that talk and projections mean little once the season begins. As Ric Flair famously said, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man,” and until another AL Central team takes the division title from Cleveland, Bibee and company will continue to play with a chip on their shoulder.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tanner Bibee gets 100% real on Guardian’s strong pitching secret

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-minor-league-contract-tyler-naquin-pitcher');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians agrees to contract with ex-outfielder as pitcher');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Guardians-news-Cleveland-agrees-to-contract-with-ex-outfielder-as-pitcher.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians agrees to contract with ex-outfielder as pitcher</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-06T17:42:43-08:00">March 6th, 5:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-06T17:42:43-08:00">March 6th, 5:42pm</time><address><a>Josey Curtis</a>Josey Curtis is an avid sports fan, with passions for MLB, the NFL, and college basketball. Josey has been writing about sports since middle school, including a seven-year stint at SB Nation. She also interned as a Baseball Video Scout at Sports Info Solutions. When she's not catching a game, you can find Josey in a barn. She has backgrounded 200 head of beef cattle annually since 2021.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>If all 30 MLB teams could agree on one thing, it would be that there is never enough pitching depth. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-stephen-vogt-andres-gimenez-mlb-playoffs-twins">Cleveland Guardians won the American League Central</a> last season, and the club knows it takes a plethora of arms to get through October.</p><p>Thus, the Guardians <a href="https://x.com/ZackMeisel/status/1897757612328018031" rel="noopener">signed right-handed pitcher</a> Tyler Naquin to a minor-league contract, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic. You read that correctly; Naquin, a former outfielder, is now a pitcher.</p><p>Naquin reported to the Guardians’ training facility in Goodyear, Arizona, on Thursday, and began working out on the mound.</p><p>The Guardians drafted Naquin in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft out of Texas A&amp;M University. The former Aggie made his big-league debut with Cleveland in 2016, and he finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Naquin spent five seasons with the Guardians before joining the Cincinnati Reds in 2021. The left-handed batter split time between the Reds and New York Mets in 2022 before joining the Chicago White Sox organization in 2023.</p><p>In 562 career games at the MLB level, Naquin has garnered 1,819 plate appearances with a .263/.316/.445 slash line. The 33-year-old hit 61 home runs and had 237 RBIs. Naquin’s best season was his rookie season in 2016, when the Guardians won the AL pennant. The then-outfielder batted .296 with 14 homers and a 128 OPS+.</p><p>Nonetheless, in his new job, Naquin’s offensive statistics aren’t relevant. It is worth noting that over his last three qualified seasons, the Texas native ranked between the 94th and 99th percentiles in arm strength. That’s a pretty important qualification for a pitcher.</p><p>The Guardians’ starting rotation will feature Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, Luis Ortiz, and Triston McKenzie. The Guardians proudly have Emmanuel Clase as their closer; <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-stories/emmanuel-clase-must-do-beat-out-tarik-skubal-2024-al-cy-young-award">Clase earned Cy Young Award consideration</a> in 2024. Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith, and Paul Sewald will be out in the bullpen as well, with Tim Herrin expected to be the team’s only lefty reliever.</p><p>The Guardians will open the regular season on March 27 against the Kansas City Royals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians agrees to contract with ex-outfielder as pitcher

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-star-prospect-out-months-after-hernia-surgery');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians star prospect out months after hernia surgery');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Guardians-star-prospect-out-months-after-hernia-surgery.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians star prospect out months after hernia surgery</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-05T08:55:25-08:00">March 5th, 8:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-05T08:55:25-08:00">March 5th, 8:55am</time><address><a>Quinn Allen</a>Quinn Allen is a Senior Associate Editor with ClutchPoints. He specializes mainly in soccer, basketball, and baseball. When Quinn isn't producing content for CP,  he's writing sports betting predictions for numerous sites across North America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>One of the Cleveland Guardians’ top prospects will be sidelined for the coming months.</p><p>Chase DeLauter <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44114014/guardians-chase-delauter-8-12-weeks-hernia-surgery" rel="noopener">has undergone hernia surgery</a> and will miss time to begin the season, per AP Sports. The 2022 first-round pick suffered a core injury in late February in practice and had the operation done on Monday in Philadelphia. DeLauter is currently the organization’s second-best prospect and was expected to begin the campaign in Triple-A Columbus.</p><p>Despite the setback, there’s still a high chance that he will make his MLB debut at some point in 2025. DeLauter’s timeline for a return is 8-12 weeks. Last year, he slashed .261 across three levels, spending most of the season in Double-A. DeLauter finished the year in Columbus, batting .304 with two long balls in 23 at-bats.</p><p>The former James Madison standout is an exciting player with a complete skill set. He hit over .400 in college and also led the Cape Cod in homers in 2021. After being lightly recruited out of high school, the Guardians youngster fully proved that he is the real deal before making the jump to the pro level.</p><p>Yes, his ’25 debut has been pushed back, but there’s still little doubt that DeLauter will make an impact at the big league level sooner rather than later. Cleveland’s roster looks quite different this season compared to last after a busy offseason that saw them part ways with several different players, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/diamondbacks-news-acquires-josh-naylor-trade-guardians">including Josh Naylor</a> and Andres Gimenez.</p><p>But, they also managed to re-sign Shane Bieber and reunite with Carlos Santana, among others. Cleveland should certainly be in the mix for the AL Central title once again <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-most-blame-2024-alcs-loss-yankees">after losing in the ALCS last year to the New York Yankees</a>. Perhaps DeLauter will get a taste of playoff baseball at some point. First, the focus will be to recover properly from surgery and that will be a process.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians star prospect out months after hernia surgery

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/diamondbacks-news-josh-naylor-thing-does-everytime-sees-terry-francona');   ga('set', 'title', 'Josh Naylor hilariously reveals one thing he still does every time he sees Terry Francona');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Josh-Naylor-hilariously-reveals-one-thing-he-still-does-everytime-he-sees-Terry-Francona.jpg"></figure><h1>Josh Naylor hilariously reveals one thing he still does every time he sees Terry Francona</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-03T20:36:24-08:00">March 3rd, 8:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-03T20:43:09-08:00">March 3rd, 8:43pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Arizona Diamondbacks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians found some success of late, reaching the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. However, the team hasn’t advanced beyond the division round since 2016 and so Cleveland felt it was time for a change. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/diamondbacks-news-acquires-josh-naylor-trade-guardians">Guardians traded Josh Naylor</a> to the Arizona Diamondbacks this offseason, moving on from a fun and productive player.</p><p>Naylor, however, can get a little over excited at times. Former Guardians manager Terry Francona found this out the hard way, suffering a headbutt from Naylor after a walk-off, two-run bomb that beat the Minnesota Twins in the 10th inning back in 2022. And Francona was even wearing a batting helmet at the time. But the gear failed to adequately protect the veteran skipper.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DGwom-nCHxn/?e=9ca32c0b-b022-413d-8c9b-482124d4cc44&amp;g=5&amp;img_index=1" rel="noopener">iconic celebration</a> was brought up recently in a sit down with Naylor. “I apologize to this day every time I see him,” Naylor said of his former manager, per MLB Network on Instagram.</p><p>“I do still feel bad to this day. I know he had neck pain for the next five days after that, so it’s kinda sad,” the Diamondbacks’ new first baseman acknowledged. “He’s awesome. I love Terry,” Naylor added.</p><h2><b>New Diamondbacks slugger Josh Naylor celebrates hard</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Josh-Naylor.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Naylor’s a big guy, tipping the scales at 250 pounds. So the Diamondbacks better be prepared for some contact when he gets a game-winner. The dramatic bomb he crushed in Cleveland was part of a solid 2022 season for the Guardians, who went 92-70 en route to winning the AL Central. And Francona was named Manager of the Year that season.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-terry-francona-truth-bomb-cleveland-departure">Francona stepped down</a> from his role as manager of the Guardians after the 2023 campaign and now the team has traded Naylor. In his last season in Cleveland, he hit 31 home runs with 108 RBI and 84 runs scored, finishing with an OPS+ of 118 and 1.5 WAR.</p><p>The Diamondbacks were in the market for a new first baseman after losing Christian Walker in free agency. The veteran Gold Glover spent eight seasons with the Diamondbacks before signing a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/houston-astros/astros-news-houston-christian-walker-nolan-arenado-trade-fiasco">three-year, $60 million deal</a> with the Astros this offseason.</p><p>Despite making the playoffs for just the second time in the last 12 years in 2023, the Diamondbacks reached the World Series, losing 4-1 to the Texas Rangers. Last season, Arizona was unable to overcome a competitive division and missed the playoffs altogether.</p><p>Perhaps Naylor will bring a new spark to the club. Just steer clear of the 27-year-old All-Star during post-game celebrations.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Josh Naylor hilariously reveals one thing he still does every time he sees Terry Francona

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-francisco-lindor-drops-truth-bomb-talking-trash');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mets’ Francisco Lindor drops truth bomb on talking ‘s**t’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Francisco-Lindor-drops-truth-bomb-on-talking-s.jpg"></figure><h1>Mets’ Francisco Lindor drops truth bomb on talking ‘s**t’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-28T15:20:38-08:00">February 28th, 3:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-28T15:21:05-08:00">February 28th, 3:21pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It is hard to believe that Francisco Lindor is about to enter his 11th MLB season. It does not feel that long ago that he was a rising star shortstop with the then-Cleveland Indians, doing his part to redefine the position by swinging a big bat that perfectly complemented his dependable glove. Despite Lindor’s bountiful talent, his teammates still pushed him hard. He is returning the favor on the New York Mets.</p><p>The 2024 National League MVP runner-up and four-time All-Star admitted that he takes a firm but sincere approach to his leadership style, making it his mission to <a href="https://x.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1895565492666188137" rel="noopener">get the most out of the younger ballplayers</a>.</p><p>“I talk a lot of s**t,” Lindor told the “Foul Territory” podcast at Mets spring training camp in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He is continuing the cycle that started in Cleveland, one that preaches tough love. Though, the 31-year-old emphasizes the importance of being supportive while talking trash. That was not always his experience on his former team.</p><p>“There were some players that talked c**p, but they had my back, and they legitimately wanted the best for me,” Lindor recalled. “And others talk c**p because… {I don’t know}. So, I try to be the one that talks and also pushes the players to be better, and be there for them and back them up whenever I got to back them up.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Full quote. 👇 <a href="https://t.co/tIZvG5qJcQ">pic.twitter.com/tIZvG5qJcQ</a></p><p>— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1895565492666188137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Can Francisco Lindor lead the Mets to another special season? </b></h2><p>Lindor is the unofficial captain of the Mets, with many anticipating the title to become a ceremonial one ahead of the 2025 season. He has taken on a vocal leadership role over the last couple of years and settled in as the face of the franchise following Jacob deGrom’s exit. Juan Soto has a strong claim to that label after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/grading-juan-soto-mets-historic-765-million-contract">signing a historic 15-year, $765 million contract</a> in free agency, but Lindor will still be looked upon as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-francisco-lindor-heartfelt-message-ny-faithful-2024-season">heart and soul of the squad</a>.</p><p>Since Jose Iglesias might not be returning to New York, the four-time Silver Slugger and two-time Gold Glover (one platinum) is one of the guys tasked with infusing energy and a strong veteran presence in the clubhouse. That job is easier when he is coming through in the batter’s box and on the field, both of which he did plenty of in 2024.</p><p>Lindor batted .273 with 33 home runs and 91 RBIs while slugging .500 and recording <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/players/francisco-lindor/12916/stats?position=SS#advanced-fielding" rel="noopener">16 outs above average</a>, per FanGraphs. His value can effectively be summed up by a playoff-clinching, heart-stopping two-run blast versus the Atlanta Braves in the first game of a regular season finale doubleheader. Mets fans are eager to see what he has in store for them this year.</p><p>And so are his teammates. Francisco Lindor aims to find a balance between instilling motivation and encouragement, as New York gears up for a highly anticipated MLB campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mets’ Francisco Lindor drops truth bomb on talking ‘s**t’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-cleveland-signing-john-means-injury-timeline');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians’ latest signing provides injury timeline');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/5303740e-f08b-11ef-a9d5-0242ac120004.jpeg"></figure><h1>Guardians’ latest signing provides injury timeline</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-21T13:23:45-08:00">February 21st, 1:23pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-21T13:23:45-08:00">February 21st, 1:23pm</time><address><a href="https://alexasabatte.wordpress.com">Alexa Sabatte</a>Alexa Sabatte is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints and a passionate sports writer dedicated to storytelling in the ever-evolving world of sports media. A graduate of NYU's American Journalism MA program, she has honed her skills at outlets like LAFB, ABC7 Los Angeles, and TMZ Sports, where her SEO expertise and interviews propelled stories to trend nationally.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Former Baltimore Orioles left-handed pitcher <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/mlb-rumors-guardians-set-to-add-1-time-all-star-pitcher">John Means signed a one-year, one million dollar contract with the Cleveland Guardians</a> earlier this week. Should the team exercise its 2026 option, Means’ two-year deal could reach $8.5 million, contingent upon him pitching at least 150 innings in that season.</p><p>However, Means isn’t immediately available as he’s recovering from Tommy John surgery. He underwent the elbow surgery last June, his second since 2022.</p><p><a href="https://x.com/ZackMeisel/status/1892971319878385672" rel="noopener">But in due time</a> for the Guardians, John Means says he’s aiming for an August return. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-guardians-fans-will-love-shane-biebers-latest-move">Shane Bieber is also targeting a mid-season return</a> from Tommy John surgery, Zack Meisel reported.</p><p>Both pitchers have missed extended time due to their injuries. However, their potential returns could be a game-changer for Cleveland’s pitching staff. With the season starting without Means and Bieber, the Guardians will rely on current starters like Ben Lively and Liz Ortiz to carry the load.</p><p>However, the prospect of having both pitchers back in action by midseason provides optimism for a stronger rotation in the second half of the season.</p><p>In his limited time on the mound in 2024, Means showed promising results. Across four starts, he went 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA, a 0.871 WHIP, and a 0.7 WAR. His performance was strong before the injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.</p><p>On the other hand, Bieber also started 2024 strong, going 2-0 with a 0.92 WHIP. Unfortunately, discomfort in his elbow led to his early 2024 exit, emphasizing the impact of both of their respective injuries.</p><p>The Guardians’ rotation, while solid, could look much different by summer when both Means and Bieber are expected to return. With this return, it would come at this most important time for Cleveland. Until then, the team will focus on weathering the early season without these arms. The Guardians hope for a smooth recovery as they aim for a strong second half.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians’ latest signing provides injury timeline

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb-rumors-guardians-set-to-add-1-time-all-star-pitcher');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Guardians set to add 1-time All-Star pitcher');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MLB-rumors-Guardians-set-to-add-1-time-All-Star-pitcher.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Guardians set to add 1-time All-Star pitcher</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-17T09:39:15-08:00">February 17th, 9:39am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-17T09:39:15-08:00">February 17th, 9:39am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians are close to adding a one-time All-Star to their pitching staff <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cleveland-guardians-2025-over-under-win-total-prediction-odds-pick">ahead of the 2025 season</a>, with MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reporting that the American League Central division club is <a href="https://x.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1891236747033342119" rel="noopener">“in advanced talks”</a> with southpaw hurler John Means.</p><p>The 31-year-old Means has been pitching in the big leagues since the 2018 MLB season with the Baltimore Orioles. But after brutal elbow injuries, Means managed to appear in just a total of 10 games since the 2022 campaign. Over that stretch, Means <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/meansjo01.shtml#2022-2024-sum:players_standard_pitching" rel="noopener">posted a 2.75 ERA</a> with a 4.00 FIP and 0.860 WHIP to go along with a 145 ERA+.</p><p>It appears that the Guardians remain interested in Means despite him undergoing two Tommy John surgeries in the past. He <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/orioles-news-john-means-gets-real-on-making-first-start-for-baltimore-since-tommy-john-surgery">had his first Tommy John procedure in 2022</a>, which effectively ended his campaign that year. Despite going under the knife for the said surgery, Means still secured a deal with the Orioles to avoid arbitration. Means made four starts for the Orioles in 2024 before needing another Tommy John operation.</p><p>Since it’s been just several months since his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/orioles-news-john-means-unfortunate-injury-concerns-continue-latest-update">second Tommy John surgery</a>, it’s possible that even if Means signs with the Guardians, he would not be available to see action on the mound for at least a considerable time.</p><p>Amid these talks about his seemingly looming addition to the Guardians, the door remains open for him to return to the only team he’s pitched so far in his big league career. So far, Means’ best season in the MLB is still his second year with the Orioles when he went 12-11 and racked up a 3.60 ERA, 4.41 FIP and 1.135 WHIP through 31 starts while also earning an All-Star nod.</p><h2><b>Guardians show interest in Means amid Shane Bieber’s recovery from injury</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Shane-Bieber-hopes-to-return-to-the-mound-in-2025.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Speaking of Tommy John, Guardians star pitcher Shane Bieber is also still in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-shane-bieber-other-injury-updates-ahead-spring-training">process of recuperating from that medical procedure</a> in April of 2024.</p><p>Should Means ultimately end up with Cleveland, he and Bieber could provide a major boost for the team’s pitching staff later in the 2025 campaign. For now, the Guardians can be expected to have a starting rotation bannered by Tanner Bibee and with the likes of Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, Luis L. Ortiz and Triston McKenzie.</p><p>In 2024, the Guardians’ starters posted just a collective 4.40 ERA and 4.51 FIP — both good for just 24th overall in the big leagues.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Guardians set to add 1-time All-Star pitcher

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-guardians-fans-will-love-shane-biebers-latest-move');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians fans will love Shane Bieber’s latest move');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cleveland-fans-will-love-Shane-Biebers-latest-move.png"><figcaption>2/15/25</figcaption></figure><h1>Guardians fans will love Shane Bieber’s latest move</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-15T16:22:57-08:00">February 15th, 4:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-15T16:22:57-08:00">February 15th, 4:22pm</time><address><a>Steve Silverman</a>Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including "Who's Better, Who's Best in the NFL." He has won multiple awards from the Pro Football Writers of America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cleveland-guardians-2025-over-under-win-total-prediction-odds-pick">Cleveland Guardians have become</a> one of the most consistent teams in the American League. The Guardians have earned a spot in the postseason in 6 of the last 9 years, and  there’s little doubt that manager Stephen Vogt has a team that expects to get back to the playoffs once again in 2025. The Guardians lineup features Jose Ramirez, one of baseball’s most productive hitters, along with Steven Kwan and veteran Carlos Santana. However, the key over the 162-game season is likely to be the performance of the pitching staff.</p><p>In the early days of spring training, Vogt and Guardians fans got encouraging news about Shane Bieber. The 29-year-old right-hander was limited to 12.0 innings last year, but he was able to have a successful bullpen session as spring training for the Guardians ramps up.</p><p>There are no guarantees that Bieber will be able to return early in the 2025 season and take his spot in the Cleveland pitching rotation. Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery last April and Bieber still has quite a bit of work to do, but he is clearly making progress. There is hope that he will be back with the Guardians this season and will be able to take a spot in the team’s pitching rotation.</p><p>After throwing a bullpen session Saturday, the Guardians are hoping there will be no ill effects and that the pitcher will be able to continue throwing shortly. The team had <a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/guardians/news/cleveland-guardians-shane-bieber-takes-massive-step-in-injury-rehab">put out a release</a> earlier in the week concerning Bieber’s rehabilitation efforts.  “Shane has been able to progress his throwing to five days per week and his throwing distance out to 120 feet.</p><p>“Shane will initiate his mound progression in mid-February.”</p><h2><b>Guardians hoping for a full recovery Bieber</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Shane-Bieber-hopes-to-return-to-the-mound-in-2025.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-shane-bieber-other-injury-updates-ahead-spring-training">The Guardians</a> will have an ace on the mound if Bieber can make a full recovery early in the season. Bieber won the Cy Young Award during the Covid-impacted 2020 season and he has been a two-time All-Star. He has a Gold Glove to his credit and he also won the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award.</p><p>Bieber had his best season in 2020 when he went 8-1 with a 1.63 earned run average. He struck out 122 batters in 77.1 innings. He had a 15-8 record in 2019 with a 3.28 ERA while throwing a career high 214.1 innings. He struck out 259 batters in 213.1 innings that season.</p><p>The Guardians are expecting their starting rotation to include Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, Gavin Williams and Luis Ortiz. Triston McKenzie should also some of the team’s starting assignments. However, if Bieber continues to make progress and is healthy enough to return to active duty, it is clear that he will be in Vogt’s starting rotation.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians fans will love Shane Bieber’s latest move

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-shane-bieber-other-injury-updates-ahead-spring-training');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians provide Shane Bieber, other injury updates ahead of spring training');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Guardians-news-Cleveland-provides-Shane-Bieber-other-injury-updates-ahead-of-spring-training.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians provide Shane Bieber, other injury updates ahead of spring training</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-14T10:05:05-08:00">February 14th, 10:05am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-14T10:05:43-08:00">February 14th, 10:05am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians did not really make any splashy additions this offseason. One can even say that the team’s biggest move in free agency was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-shane-bieber-cleveland-mlb-free-agency-reunion">retaining its most accomplished starting pitcher</a>, Shane Bieber. There are questions scattered throughout the rotation, so manager Stephen Vogt is counting on the 2020 Cy Young to bring stability. But first, he has to get healthy.</p><p>Bieber is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he required after suffering a season-ending elbow injury last April. Now that pitchers and catchers have officially reported to Goodyear, Arizona for spring training, fans are anxious to know if and when they can expect to see the two-time All-Star in action. Luckily, there are some new updates available.</p><p>Bieber is making solid progress, <a href="https://x.com/GuardsInsider/status/1890430230835220814" rel="noopener">throwing up to five days a week</a> from 120 feet out, per the GuardsInsider X account. He “will initiate his mound progression in mid-February.”</p><h2><b>Guardians need Bieber</b></h2><p>The 29-year-old logged just two starts last season, but oh how magnificent those two starts were. He pitched 12 scoreless innings and struck out 20 batters, exhibiting the kind of dominance that helped him post a 1.63 ERA and 3.2 WAR in the abbreviated 2020 campaign. Bieber did not quite reclaim that form in the following seasons but was still an upper-echelon hurler. Though, after battling elbow issues the last two seasons, there is no telling how he will bounce back in 2025.</p><p>But for now, fans will take satisfaction in knowing that the ace is moving along nicely in his rehabilitation. When healthy, Shane Bieber will join a starting pitching rotation that includes Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Ben Lively. Depth was an issue in the playoffs. Vogt cannot ask his bullpen to carry such a heavy burden once again this upcoming season. No. 57 will have to pick up where he left off, or someone else will need to emerge.</p><h2><b>Cleveland hopes to get healthy as a group after injury-ridden 2024</b></h2><p>In addition to briefing fans on Bieber’s status, GuardsInsider provided updates on the club’s other injured players. All-Star utility man <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-david-fry-out-2025-elbow-surgery">David Fry is recovering from elbow surgery himself</a> and will meet with his orthopedic surgeon in early March to discuss the next steps forward. He should return at some point in the middle of the season but is unlikely to play the field.</p><p>Righty reliever and former first-round draft pick Daniel Espino is still five-to-eight months away from returning after undergoing shoulder surgery in early 2024. Left-hander Sam Hentges (also the shoulder) is not expected to join the club until late in the year, if at all. Fellow bullpen piece Trevor Stephan missed all of last year due to Tommy John surgery and is about where Shane Bieber is in his recovery process.</p><p>With multiple pitchers still on the shelf, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-land-jakob-junis-amid-spring-training">Guardians’ Jakob Junis signing</a> should be particularly beneficial. Hopefully, Cleveland will have Lady Luck on its side a little more often in 2025.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians provide Shane Bieber, other injury updates ahead of spring training

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-land-jakob-junis-amid-spring-training');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians land 2.69 ERA pitcher amid spring training');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cleveland-lands-2.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians land 2.69 ERA pitcher amid spring training</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-13T21:54:02-08:00">February 13th, 9:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-14T09:27:22-08:00">February 14th, 9:27am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians know their identity and are not seeking to change it anytime soon. They have <a href="https://x.com/kileymcd/status/1890259338146857423" rel="noopener">agreed to a one-year, $4.5 million contract</a> with right-handed relief pitcher Jakob Junis, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.</p><p>The 32-year-old owns a lackluster 4.48 career ERA but was highly reliable last season. He recorded a 4-0 record with a 2.69 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds. American League Manager of the Year Stephen Vogt will have the option to employ Junis as a long reliever or starter, giving the pitching staff more depth.</p><h2><b>Guardians enhance their strength</b></h2><p>Cleveland has taken a fairly conservative approach this offseason. The organization <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-shane-bieber-return-cleveland">re-signed former Cy Young Shane Bieber</a>, traded Josh Naylor and Andres Gimenez and reunited with Carlos Santana, among other transactions. It is quite obvious the Guardians are trusting their elite bullpen to push it into the playoffs for a second consecutive season.</p><p>They are now adding to their robust relief unit. While Junis might eventually slide into the back end of the rotation, he has the potential to act as an effective bridge to the later innings. Emmanuel Clase’s cataclysmic October notwithstanding, the Cy Young finalist notched a sensational 0.61 ERA and .154 batting average against in 74 1/3 regular season innings. Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and Tim Herrin all joined <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-team-reacts-emmanuel-clase-second-al-reliever-of-the-year-award">the top closer</a> in posting a sub-2.00 ERA while logging 70-plus appearances.</p><p>Although bullpens can obviously vary year to year, the Guardians are taking measures to ensure that their group is once again among MLB’s best. Surrounding six-time All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez with enough firepower in the lineup is always a challenge, but Cleveland might be able to rack up wins by playing smart baseball and silencing batters in the final stretch of games.</p><p>The reigning divisional champions rode that formula to the ALCS last season, and they hope to achieve more noteworthy success in 2025. Jakob Junis will do what he can to aid their efforts.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians land 2.69 ERA pitcher amid spring training

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-terry-francona-truth-bomb-cleveland-departure');   ga('set', 'title', 'Terry Francona drops truth bomb on Guardians departure');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Guardians-news-Terry-Francona-drops-truth-bomb-on-Cleveland-departure.jpg"></figure><h1>Terry Francona drops truth bomb on Guardians departure</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-05T08:45:49-08:00">February 5th, 8:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-05T08:45:49-08:00">February 5th, 8:45am</time><address><a>Dan Fappiano</a>Dan Fappiano is a Connecticut based sports journalist and a graduate of both Tunxis Community College and Central Connecticut State University. Dan has spent time covering high school and professional sports in both the print and online medium. He hopes to see his beloved Chicago Bears win a Super Bowl someday.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After 11 years with the Cleveland Guardians, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-terry-francona-gets-heartfelt-tribute-standing-ovation-ahead-retirement">Terry Francona decided to step down</a> from his managerial role after the 2023 season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/reds-news-terry-francona-manager">Now with the Cincinnati Reds</a>, Francona revealed exactly why he made the decision.</p><p>It was spearheaded by health concerns, which were cited at the time of his decision. Now, Francona confirms that leaving that Guardians came with <a href="https://x.com/jaysonst/status/1887145967427743897" rel="noopener">no ill will towards the franchise</a> or the game of baseball, via Jayson Stark of The Athletic</p><p>“I had a nice year being away from the game, it was good for me,” Francona said. “When you fess up that you need to be away, you’re probably a little late on pulling the trigger.”</p><p>“I didn’t leave because I was mad or I hated the game. I just didn’t feel like I was doing my job right. I worked hard this past year to try and be in a position where I can do it,” Francona continued. “I know when the season starts, it’ll be a test. But it just feels good to be excited. I didn’t want to just jump into something I wasn’t going to be comfortable with. Even on good days, this can be a hard job.”</p><p>Francona’s final season in Cleveland saw the Guardians register a 76-86 record and miss out on the playoffs. It was the second time in three years the Guardians failed to reach the postseason. At that time, Francona decided it was time for him to step away and revaluate where he stood as a manager.</p><p>His time with the Guardians ended with a 921-757 record. Cleveland made the playoffs six times under Francona’s tenure, winning the AL pennant in 2016.</p><p>After a year away from the game, Terry Francona has now found himself. He’s joining a Reds team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2020. However, the team is littered with young stars ready to make an impact. Cincinnati is hopefully Francona’s 1,950 wins, three Manager of the Year awards and two World Series rings will be the missing piece.</p><p>As for the Guardians, Francona has no beef with the organization. His still thinks of his time in Cleveland fondly. Simply put, he just needed a reset to get back to where he wants to be as a manager.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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