Where are the Cleveland Guardians headed? That’s the question fans are asking seeing the team’s current situation. The Guardians ended 2024 as the #1 team in AL Central but have yet to show their intent this year. Although they have signed a few names, no big names are evident now, and with reduced payroll this year, the chance is nearly zero. Yes, the Guardians are on a downward trend from the last few years in terms of payroll, and 2025 is their lowest one till now. 

Reportedly, the Guardians are on a $96 million payroll this year, which is an $8 million decrease from their 2024 payroll. They had a relatively good performance last year, losing out on the ALCS to the Yankees but winning the AL division series against the Tigers. Based on this performance, it was expected that the Guardians would go big this year, but nothing much is evident for now. What does the future hold then for the Guardians?

Current challenges with the Guardians

The off-field problems seem higher for the Guardians compared to their on-field issues. They were long plagued with issues like a lack of big names and offering lower payrolls compared to other teams. This has not only hampered their on-field performance but also they are losing out on their fans’ interest. The ownership of the Guardians is primarily held by the Dolan family, who were long accused of reluctance to spend heavily on the players and losing out on talents to other teams. For the uninformed, the Cleveland Guardians last won the World Series in 1948! Quite expected for the Cleveland fans to lose their interest in this team.

Why is the team then not going big this offseason? Well, the major reasons cited are the limited market for the Guardians and the lack of enough funding for the ownership to compete with the top-tier teams. Contrary to this fact, the Guardians drew 2 million fans, the first time since 2017. They also sold 250 “full season equivalents” tickets for 2025, which was the fastest they’ve done in 10 years. Is that not enough for them to survive? “The Guardians will eventually be sold and move to a different city because they’ll need more income and a bigger market,” said former MLB star Erik Kratz. It seems the owners are not sure about getting viable returns from their existing market anymore.

What are the ways forward?

Well, getting fans to the field and putting better performance on the field is a two-way game. Fans will only be interested in getting involved when their team will be better represented and performing. As evident by their 2024 attendance, their relatively better performance and chance of winning the ALCS made the fans get to the field. However, their reduced payroll this year is not showing any confidence to get better this year, which may act as a demoralizing force for the fans. Thus, it is for the ownership to go big, invest heavily, and get crowd-pulling names; that will all translate to their better field performance and can offer a better value to the fans.

The Dolan family got billionaire David Blitzer for a minority stake, opening more avenues of investment. It was expected that the inclusion of Blitzer would get the team back on track, but their payroll got further reduced this year. It is the need of the hour for the Guardians to channel more funding to the team. However, the team getting sold and moving out to another city is highly probable considering some other city may offer a better market for the Guardians. The recent moves, like reducing payrolls, are indicating the same. 

Till the time the Guardians are here in Cleveland, the fans can enjoy their performance and fill the parks, even if that means the team to stay back. However, the sorry state of affairs is far from over for the team. 

What do you think about the Guardians moving out of Cleveland? Share your thoughts.