Cleveland MLB team to officially become Guardians on Friday

On Tuesday, the Cleveland Indians confirmed the resolution of a lawsuit previously filed by a roller derby team known as the Cleveland Guardians since 2013 regarding the MLB club rebranding as the Guardians before the start of the 2022 baseball season. 

Now that it's known both teams will use the Guardians moniker moving forward, the MLB franchise isn't wasting any more time. 

Per Ben Axelrod of local station WKYC, the Indians will officially become the Guardians on Friday. As part of the switch, the team shop at Progressive Field will sell Guardians gear for the first time beginning at 9 a.m. ET that morning. Other outlets will start offering Guardians merchandise next Tuesday. 

Additionally, the official social media accounts associated with the ballclub will display new handles. This includes Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. 

Back on Nov. 2, the baseball team began the removal of the scripted "Indians" logo from its main scoreboard, an indication the roller derby lawsuit would have no impact on the MLB club minus a small headache or two. As Mandy Bell wrote for the league's website, the club is attaching a new "Guardians" sign to its scoreboard at some point before Opening Day 2022.