As Reds near 100 losses, Guardians avoid rebuild on way to playoffs
The Cleveland Guardians are probably the biggest surprise in Major League Baseball this season, riding the youngest roster in the big leagues and fourth-lowest payroll to a divisional title.
It wasn't long ago when it seemed like they were teetering between a rebuild and remaining competitive, trading Francisco Lindor, Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber, Mike Clevinger and Carlos Carrasco before they reached free agency.
After reaching the World Series in 2016, plus some shorter playoff runs afterward, the Guardians have a new homegrown group that carried them to the playoffs.
All small-market teams wondered how they could replicate the Tampa Bay Rays' model for punching above their payroll, and the Guardians may be the new model to follow around the league.
Their mix of young talent and athleticism allows them to excel in all areas. They are relentless on the basepaths, strong defensively and have good pitching.
If the Milwaukee Brewers fall short in the race for the final National League wild-card spot, the Guardians will be one of three playoff-bound teams with a payroll in the bottom half of the league, alongside the Rays and Seattle Mariners.
“I do think the Guardians are a good model as far as the way they play,” Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell said. “I know when we played them over the last few years, we always kind of walk away from there going, ‘Man, this team is really tough to play.' They do a lot of things really well. They don't blow you away with big-name guys necessarily, not that it always matters, but they just do a lot of things right the way.”
The Reds are in the early stage of their rebuild, and they'll have essentially a blank slate with their payroll after the 2023 season, but they've taken a divergent path from what the Guardians built.
The Guardians have the majors' youngest group of position players, according to Baseball Reference, with the average age at 25.9 years old. The Reds have the fifth-oldest group, though they've trended younger after the trade deadline and season-ending injuries to Joey Votto and Mike Moustakas.
Cleveland's front office traded several veteran players because of their payroll limitations, but they didn't miss much on the players they targeted. They received six players from the San Diego Padres in the Clevinger trade, and five of them are on their active roster with the sixth thriving at Double-a.
Trading Lindor took away the face of the organization, but they received their two starting middle infielders in return, Amed Rosario and Andrés Giménez. They traded Kluber for their future closer, Emmanuel Clase.
The one trade the Guardians didn't really capitalize was sending Bauer to the
Reds in the three-way deal with the Padres.
The Guardians generally targeted young players who had just broken into the majors because they still wanted to be competitive around José Ramírez and their core pitchers such as Shane Bieber. The Reds, on the other hand, received younger prospects with higher upside in their deals. Jonathan India and Tyler Stephenson aren't eligible for free agency until after the 2026 season.
Cleveland built a starting rotation that was almost entirely homegrown, drafting three of their five starters in the same 2016 draft. The Guardians are one of the best organizations at player development, having 16 rookies debut this year and not missing a beat.
“They found a way to get the most out of young players,” Bell said. “It seems like they have a great culture, environment. Clearly, they play well together. All the same things we're in the process really trying hard to build as best as possible.”
The Guardians and Reds have spring training complexes next door to each other in Goodyear, Arizona. The Guardians have carried a lower payroll and draw fewer fans to home games, but they've had only one losing season since 2013.
The Reds finished with a losing record in seven of their past nine seasons.