2024 Roster Speculation: 3 Guardians Players We Don’t Expect to See Next Year

Changes will need to be made to the Guardians roster this offseason!

With the 2023 season over, the front office begins the process of piecing together what the roster might look like heading into next season. The team structure of 2023 clearly didn’t work, and a minor shakeup is needed to jolt this team and offense next season. While the core of this team is already in-house, there is plenty of talent ready to contribute at the major league level in the minors. The Guardians need to find power and offense, and the outfield is the most likely position that will see change. In order to find new spark plugs for the offense, some 2023 regulars might be in danger of losing their spot and not being part of the team in 2024.

Three players we feel we will not see next season.

OF Myles Straw

Myles Straw has been the go-to option in center field since he was acquired in 2021, but it might be time to go in a different direction. In his two full seasons with the Guardians, Straw is hitting .226 with a 66 wRC+ and getting on base at just a .293 rate. Straw rarely elevates the ball and tends to rely on finding holes and getting singles at best. He doesn’t walk a lot and would need to hit for a lot more power to be manageable with that average.

His defense is certainly what has kept him in the lineup, and he has shown on numerous occasions what he can do in the outfield. The metrics suggest his defense has regressed this season, but he’s still an above-average defender on any given night. Although he has good speed, he doesn’t steal bases very effectively to gain an advantage there. He is a good runner otherwise, but he doesn’t bring enough to the table to play every day.

While he’s under contract until 2026, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Guardians find a trade to move on from him in 2024. Straw isn’t the worst option for a fourth outfielder, but it would be better to find a platoon bat with all the lefties in the lineup going forward. If the Guardians want to contend in 2024, Straw cannot be an everyday guy, and it might be best to move on from him altogether.

OF Will Brennan

As opposed to Straw, Will Brennan has shown plenty of flashes of what he can do as a hitter in this lineup. On the season, he’s batting just .263 with a 79 wRC+ and has only five home runs. It seems like Brennan has been a contributor offensively, but he’s been very inconsistent and lackluster more often than not.

Steven Kwan is penciled into an outfield spot for sure next season, and it would be tough to field a strong offensive outfield with the lack of power from both Brennan and Kwan. He’s another guy who wouldn’t be a bad option for a fourth outfielder, but the Guardians could really use a lefty-masher to maintain an advantage against pitchers. It wouldn’t be the worst thing if Brennan finds a way onto the opening-day roster, but it’s hard to imagine the Guardians competing with Brennan and Kwan as the starting outfielders.

SP Shane Bieber

With Straw and Brennan, it would be encouraged to move on from them this offseason and go in a different direction. It’s not the same situation at all when it comes to Shane Bieber, but the team would be fine if he isn’t on the roster in 2024. He’s entering his final year of control with arbitration, and the Guardians aren’t known to let homegrown talent walk for nothing. Losing the former Cy Young Award Winner wouldn’t be ideal, but the team is in a position to be fine without him.

In 2023, there was a youth movement in the starting rotation, with Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, and Logan Allen being called up to carry the load. All three performed well, and Bibee and Williams appear ready to spearhead the rotation. Triston McKenzie missed all of 2023, and his health is the key to this move being okay, Cal Quantrill has been fine to round it out. The team is in a great position to be fine without Bieber, but seeing him back for another season wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. It just might be in the Guardians’ interest to capitalize on his value before losing him for nothing.