At some point over the next couple weeks, we’ll get a chance to see John Means make his long-awaited Guardians debut. While the debut will undoubtedly mean a lot for Means (who has thrown just 52 1/3 innings since the start of 2022 due to arm injuries), it’ll also mean a lot for the Guardians front office, since Chris Antonetti and co. signed Means to a one-year, $1 million deal in the offseason that includes a $6 million team option for next season.
The reason why they signed Means to such a deal was clear. They took a flier on him this year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, and, if they didn’t like what they saw or if Means got hurt, they’d be able to pull the ripcord with no problem in the offseason.