Manzardo has gained 14 pounds of muscle since the end of the 2025 season, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
The Guardians want Manzardo, who played a career-high 142 games last season, to hold up better physically and be a candidate for more reps at first base in 2026. He mostly served as a designated hitter in 2025, when he appeared in 84 games as a DH and 55 at first base. With Carlos Santana no longer around, Manzardo and C.J. Kayfus are primed for more work at first, although Kayfus might be a better fit in the outfield. While holding up physically over the course of a season is one goal for the 25-year-old Manzardo, becoming a legit threat against left-handed pitching should be another. He slashed .186/.253/.419 over 95 plate appearances against southpaws in 2025.
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Guardians' Colin Holderman: Nets one-year deal with Cleveland
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The Guardians signed Holderman to a one-year, $1.5 million contract Thursday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Holderman was non-tendered by the Pirates in November following a disastrous 2025 season that saw him collect a 7.01 ERA and 18:16 K:BB over 25.2 innings. The 30-year-old reliever entered the season with a career 3.58 ERA and 23.8 percent strikeout rate, so he's a good bet to bounce back to some degree in 2026 in a new setting. The Guardians will have multiple years of control, as Holderman will be eligible for salary arbitration in 2027 and 2028.
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Guardians' Peyton Pallette: Pilfered by Cleveland
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The Guardians selected Pallette with the ninth pick of the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday.
Pallette was a second-round pick in 2022 by the White Sox and was recovering from Tommy John surgery at the time he was drafted. He moved to the bullpen in 2024 and spent most of 2025 at Triple-A, where he logged a 4.36 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 54:20 K:BB and three saves in 43.1 innings. Pallette has a mid-90s fastball with good spin and several solid secondary offerings, headlined by his curveball.
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Guardians' Connor Brogdon: Grabs MLB deal from Guardians
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The Guardians signed Brogdon to a one-year, $900,000 contract Wednesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Brogdon made 43 appearances for the Angels in 2025, putting up a 5.55 ERA and 49:18 K:BB over 47 innings. Slated to turn 31 next month, Brogdon hasn't had much success at the big-league level since 2022, but the Guardians felt the right-handed reliever was worthy of a major-league deal. Brogdon will have an additional year of arbitration eligibility in 2027.
Festa agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract with the Guardians on Friday to avoid arbitration, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Festa pitched a career-high 54.2 innings in 2025 while also maintaining a solid 1.08 WHIP with a 56:15 K:BB. He also racked up 12 holds and should line up for a high-leverage role out of the bullpen once again in 2026.
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Guardians' David Fry: Lands contract from Cleveland
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Fry (face) agreed to a one-year, $1.38 million contract with the Guardians on Friday to avoid arbitration, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Fry had a tough 2025 season, as he was initially sidelined until the end of May while recovering from an elbow injury. His season ended in late September after being hit in the face by a pitch, though that isn't expected to affect his 2026 campaign. In between, Fry struggled to a .171/.229/.363 line across 157 plate appearances.
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Guardians' Nolan Jones: Agrees to deal
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Jones (oblique) agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Guardians on Friday to avoid arbitration, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Jones' season regular-season ended a few days early due to an oblique injury, an issue that also sidelined him for the postseason. He spent the entire 2025 season in the majors and accrued 403 plate appearances, though he managed only a .600 OPS with five homers and eight stolen bases.
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Guardians' Yorman Gomez: Protected from Rule 5 Draft
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The Guardians selected Gomez's contract from Double-A Akron on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Gomez, who turned 23 earlier this month, logged a 3.15 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 56:19 K:BB in 45.2 innings as a starter at Double-A in 2025. He tallied 121.2 innings across Double-A and High-A and now that he's on the 40-man roster, Gomez could be a big-league rotation option in the second half of 2026, although he'll likely spend most of the year at Triple-A.
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Guardians' Kahlil Watson: Selected to 40-man roster
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The Guardians selected Watson's contract from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Watson split the 2025 season between Double-A and Triple-A, slashing .250/.346/.467 with 16 homers, 61 RBI, 53 runs scored and 17 stolen bases over 429 plate appearances between the two levels. Now that he owns a place on Cleveland's 40-man roster, the 22-year-old outfielder is ineligible for the Rule 5 Draft and will most likely remain at Columbus for the start of the 2026 campaign.
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Guardians' Angel Genao: Shielded from Rule 5 Draft
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The Guardians selected Genao's contract from Double-A Akron on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
One of the Guardians' top prospects, Genao missed the start of last season with a shoulder injury and never got on track after returning, logging a .259/.323/.359 slash line with two home runs and six steals in 77 games as a 21-year-old at Double-A. The switch-hitting shortstop is a strong bounce-back candidate in 2026, and while he may return to Double-A at the start of the year, he should spend the bulk of the year at Triple-A and could even make his big-league debut next summer.
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Guardians' Austin Peterson: Added to 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Guardians selected Peterson's contract from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Peterson struggled a bit after being promoted to Triple-A in June, posting a 4.27 ERA and 1.37 WHIP across 90.2 innings compared to the 1.47 ERA and 0.82 WHIP he held in 55 frames at Double-A Akron. The 26-year-old's addition to the 40-man roster will prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, but the Guardians will likely keep him in Triple-A to begin the 2026 campaign.
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Guardians' Nic Enright: DFA'd by Cleveland
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Enright (elbow) was designated for assignment by the Guardians on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Enright loses his 40-man spot on Rule 5 deadline day after undergoing Tommy John surgery shortly after the end of the 2025 regular season. He will miss all of 2026, but Enright showed real promise before going down with a 2.03 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 31 innings out of the Cleveland bullpen, numbers which may attract a team on the other end of the competitive spectrum.
Guardians' Emmanuel Clase: Indicted on federal charges
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Clase was indicted Sunday on multiple federal charges related to rigging bets on pitches thrown in MLB games, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Cleveland's former closer missed the final two-plus months of the 2025 season while being investigated by MLB, and he and teammate Luis L. Ortiz are now formally being charged in federal court, with Ortiz already having been arrested earlier Sunday. The indictment alleges that the pitchers were paid to intentionally throw balls so bettors could wager on the pitches being a ball or a strike. Clase, who is a three-time All-Star and led the majors in saves in each of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, is facing a maximum of 65 years in prison if convicted on all charges, per Passan.
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Guardians' Luis L. Ortiz: Arrested in gambling probe
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Ortiz was arrested in Boston earlier Sunday after he was indicted on charges for his alleged role in a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown in MLB games, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Fellow Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase has also been indicted, though he has yet to be taken into police custody. Citing a statement from the Department of Justice, Zack Meisel of The Athletic relays that Ortiz and Clase are facing charges of "wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy" after the two pitchers were accused of intentionally throwing balls in games so that bettors could wager on the pitches. According to Passan, prosecutors allege that Clase's involvement in the betting scheme dated back to as early as May 2023, while Ortiz was included at a later date. Ortiz has remained on administrative leave since July 3 while MLB has conducted its own sports-betting investigation. If MLB concurs with the accusations levied against Ortiz in the indictment, the 26-year-old right-hander's time in affiliated ball would most likely be over.
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