Cleveland Guardians announce roster moves ahead of offseason deadline

Some fan-favorites survived, others had their time in The Land cut short.

On Friday, Nov. 21, the Cleveland Guardians officially announced the front office's decisions on whether to tender contracts to players under club control who have not yet signed deals for the 2026 season. Each team in MLB had to decide by a 5:00 p.m. deadline.

Players who ended up not being tendered a contract would become free agents, while those who were arbitration-eligible have until Jan. 8 to work out a deal with their respective teams. The two sides can continue to work on a deal after that date, but some may end up going to arbitration hearings.

For the Guardians, they ended up deciding to avoid arbitration with right-handed pitcher Matt Festa, outfielder Nolan Jones and utility David Fry by signing all to 2026 ML contracts.

Outside of Festa, Jones and Fry, there were 32 arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration players on Cleveland's 40-man roster who were tendered contracts.

Festa has been with the Guardians for one season, pitched a 4.12 ERA across 63 games and 54.2 innings of action out of the bullpen. He averaged 9.2 strikeouts and 2.7 walks per nine innings. His return to the team should be a good relief to the bullpen as they look to bolster it ahead of the 2026 campaign.

Jones, who was a controversial hitter for the team in 2025, slashed a line of .211/.296/.304 for an OPS of .600. His return to the team comes from a perspective of defensive efforts and hopes for a better offensive showing next season.

However, they still may end up moving on from him before the start of the season.

The last player the Guardians avoided arbitration with, David Fry, has been an unsung hero for the team in clutch situations over the course of the past few seasons. In three seasons with the Guardians, he's recorded a .235 batting average that's spotlighted by a 2024 All-Star selection.

He crushed 18 doubles and 14 home runs for 51 RBIs.

While the team opted to keep around a good chunk of familiar faces, they also decided to move on from a few as well. They parted ways with right-handed pitcher Nic Enright, left-handed pitcher Sam Hentges and outfielder Will Brennan.

Hentges and Enright have been two bullpen arms for the Guardians in recent years, with Brennan playing where Jones was slotted in 2025. He missed nearly the entire season due to injury.

Of everyone either kept around or let waltz into free agency, Brennan has had some of the most consistency.

After rising up through the Guardians' farm system, he recorded a batting average of .267 through four seasons of major league ball. He never really showed much power, but you could nearly always count on him getting on base in some capacity.

With Cleveland's outfield being incredibly thin already, the decision to let Brennan go comes as a pretty big shock.

As Cleveland's front office moves forward, they will look to add a few key contributors in free agency to bolster both the batting and pitching play for the upcoming season, especially with a bit more room now available on the 40-man roster.