The Guardians have fielded one of the six lowest Opening Day payrolls in each of the last four seasons, yet have made the playoffs twice over that stretch. Last year wasn’t one of those years, however, and their 86 losses were the most by a Cleveland team since 2012, the last year someone other than Terry Francona managed the team. The team hired first-year manager Stephen Vogt to replace their retiring manager to lead a team that had the youngest pitching staff and second-youngest lineup last year.
The franchise has a history of trading away star players but constantly reloading with talent, particularly on the pitching side.