CLEVELAND, Ohio — A seismic shift appears to be underway within the Guardians organization, one that could fundamentally transform a franchise long known for developing elite pitchers but struggling to produce impactful bats.

Baseball America’s recent release of the Guardians’ top 10 prospects revealed something unprecedented for the franchise: seven of their ten best minor leaguers are position players, with a distinct emphasis on power potential that signals a clear organizational pivot toward addressing their most glaring weakness.

On the latest Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, veteran beat reporter Paul Hoynes highlighted this remarkable development: “The thing that jumps out at you, there’s only three pitchers on that list. The rest of these guys are position players. Maybe a little bit of a change in philosophy by the front office or this is just the way the players presented themselves on the draft board. But I think it’s probably a recognition by the organization that they need offense. This is an organization that needs an injection of hitting.”

The list is headlined by 2024’s first overall pick Travis Bazzana, a second baseman who battled injuries but still reached Triple-A in his first full professional season.

While Bazzana represents the first #1 overall selection in franchise history, it’s the organization’s commitment to developing power bats throughout the system that truly indicates a philosophical shift.

Perhaps most intriguing is the third-ranked prospect, Ralphie Velasquez, a massive 6-foot-3, 240-pound first baseman who blasted 22 home runs and drove in 85 runs while reaching Double-A at just 20 years old. Hoynes couldn’t hide his enthusiasm about Velasquez’s potential: “He’s a big dude and he’s got some pop. Can’t wait to see him climb the ladder here, because he’s exactly what they need. A left handed hitter and he’s got some pop.”

The list continues with power-oriented selections like 2025 first-rounder Jace LaViolette, who hasn’t even made his professional debut but already ranks seventh overall in the system based on his offensive upside. Hoynes noted this departure from Cleveland’s traditional preference for contact-oriented hitters: “LaViolette’s a pure hitter and big, strong, physical guy. We’ll have to see how that works out.”

This organizational pivot comes at a critical time for a major league club that somehow won 88 games and a division title despite ranking last or near-last in offensive production at multiple positions. The farm system’s reconfiguration toward power bats suggests Cleveland’s front office recognized their development pipeline needed a complete overhaul to address their offensive futility.

While Cleveland has built its modern identity around developing elite pitchers like Corey Kluber, Shane Bieber and Tanner Bibee, this new generation of prospects indicates an organization with a willingness to evolve. Rather than continuing to win with pitching despite offensive limitations, the club appears committed to building a more balanced roster that can compete on both sides of the ball.

For Guardians fans accustomed to watching masterful pitching performances undermined by anemic offense, this shift in developmental focus offers hope for a more complete team in the coming years – one where explosive offensive talent finally matches their pitching excellence.

Podcast transcript

Joe Noga: Welcome. Well, welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynsie, it’s winter meetings eve, getting ready to head down to Florida and jump right in with, with both feet on the winter meetings and everything that goes along with that for Major League Baseball. What are you most looking forward to when you get down there in Orlando taking part in this sort of yearly exercise?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, I think the first day is, I think it’s really going to be interesting Sunday, you know, they had the ERA committee with you, what, seven, eight guys on there, you know, really kind of almost household names. You know, Bonds, Clemens, you know, guys that, you know, were on the, the BBWA ballot, didn’t make it, but really kind of a lot of guys that people think should be in the hall of Fame. And so we’ll see how that boat goes. That, that should be announced at 7:30 on Sunday night and we’ll go from there. But I’m anxious to see, just because I think it’s going to have an impact on a guy like Manny Ra is if the steroid guys get in, Bonds and Clemens, who are, you know, if they, you know, get elected, that means, you know, the green light, you know, things have changed and that could really kind of pave the way for Manny, could pave the way for Alex Rodriguez, who are still on the BBWA ballot but are running out of eligibility.

Joe Noga: Yeah. So I think earlier this week Gary Sheffield makes, made some remarks about trying to sort of separate himself from Bonds and Clemens and the other steroid era players. And you know, I don’t know how effective that’s going to be in the minds of the voters on the committee. You know, really, like you said, guys like Manny Ramirez and what their, you know, future sort of chances are of making the hall of Fame really kind of maybe even hinge on this, this first go round for these steroid era guys.

Paul Hoynes: No doubt about it. You know, these guys, you know, Barnes and Clemens have been on this ballot before.

Paul Hoynes: They have not gotten voted in. So now coming around a second time, you know, probably there’s some new voters on that committee. There’s 16 voters on the committee. You’ve got to get 12 votes to get in. It’s going to be, it’s going to be really, really. I think it’s going to, you know, kind of set a marker, you know, for the future for guys like Clemens and Bonds and Sheffield and, you know, Manny Ramirez and a Rod. We’re going to see just how this ERA committee, you know, looks at them and if, you know, the winds of, the winds of change have, you know, taken effect. So I’m anxious to see how this works. You know, Dale Murphy is on that, that ballot. Don Mattingly is on the ballot. Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent. So there’s, there’s some interesting names on there, Joe. Names of some very good ballplayers.

Joe Noga: Yeah. And I saw Carlos Byerga was on Major League Baseball Network earlier this week, sort of out there stumping for his buddy Carlos Delgado and his candidacy. And all these guys very worthy of consideration, for sure. But like you said, didn’t they just adjust the rules about the ERA committees where I think some of these guys will be not eligible after like three bites at the apple or something like that? Is that accurate?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I forget the exact rule, but yeah, if you’re, if you’re on the ballot and if you’re on the ballot this year and you can, you’re still eligible when it rolls around three years from now. But, you know, if, if you’re on the ballot then, and don’t, don’t receive, I think, a certain amount of the vote, then you cannot be, you cannot be put on a ballot again.

Joe Noga: So really, depending on how many ballots or how many votes Bonds and Clemens get, and even if they don’t get elected, they would need to sort of maintain their eligibility by getting a certain amount of votes. So again, it could be very telling because you want to be able to have as, as, as many opportunities to get on as you can.

Joe Noga: And I keep thinking about a guy like a Kenny Lofton who didn’t even make it onto the ballot this year, but maybe in three years that could be different.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, definitely. Kenny should, you know, at least get one bite of the apple. He has not, he has not even had one bite of the apple, you know, after falling off the BBWA ballot, what, in 2013, I believe way too early. He was a one and done guy and he certainly deserved a longer look than that.

Joe Noga: Paul, the other, you know, announcement that’ll come at some point during the winter meetings. The BBWA is considering changing the name of the Career Excellence Award from. Obviously it was the JG Taylor Spink Award for so many years, but they voted to rename it in what, 20, 21 or 22. They have four options now and I don’t know, I don’t believe we’ve talked about this on the podcast. The writers have, have cast their votes and the results revealed at some point during the winter meetings was they. A committee met, gave them four options. They they decided to go with either the Hugh Fullerton Award, the Platinum Pen Award, the Wendell Smith Award, or to keep it as the Career Excellence Award. I know I voted in favor of the name change to the Wendell Smith Award. Guy who, you know, was a JG Taylor Spink Award winner in the past, but he was a civil rights activist and you know, the first black sports writer win the Spink Award, first black member of the bbwaa. I know Hugh Fullerton was instrumental in forming the, the BBWA itself. Certainly a guy worthy of recogn recognition then. And I don’t know that the Platinum Pen Award didn’t really speak to me, so I just didn’t think that was a great option. What do you think about the name change for the award?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, this thing has changed names. There’s been a lot of flip flop in the last, before five, six years. But yeah, I went for, you know, I think it’s a, it’s a good idea. And I went for the Hugh Fullerton Award. I picked him just because as you mentioned, he was played a big role in the forming of the bbwa and he was really one of the Chicago writers that uncovered the Black sox scandal of 1918. 1919. You know, he worked hard on that. He, he worked, you know, for, to improve the working conditions for the writers. You know, I don’t think for a long time, I think the writers just sat in the stands, but they got press boxes. You know, I think he was critical in that. He, you know, it was kind of moved that forwards. I thought that was a big step to form that.

Joe Noga: Yeah, that’s an important point to note about Hugh Fullerton is that, you know, we wouldn’t have some of the, the accommodations that we have as baseball writers right now if it weren’t for him and his work. So certainly I’ll. I’ you know, I think between Fullerton and Smith, you really can’t go wrong. I certainly hope they don’t rename it the Platinum Pen. We’ve got enough, we’ve got enough precious metals out there. We’ve got gold gloves and silver sluggers. We, we don’t need a platinum pen. We’re good. The winter meetings, though, you know, not just about award recognition and, and getting to interview managers and, and GMs and all that. A lot of, you know, behind the scenes dealing gets done and really the business of baseball sort of picks up and, and really last year at this time, all was talking about was Juan Soto. Where was Juan Soto going to sign? Where did he end up? Obviously, signs with the Mets is the big news out of the winter meetings. Early on in the winter meetings this year, it’s, it’s Kyle Schwaber and where’s he going to end up. Schwarber seeking about a five year deal, hoping to get that fifth year out of some team. He’s 32 years old. You know, a lot of rumors have him seriously considering a move close to home. He’s from the area just north of Cincinnati. Could a reunion with that area and, you know, maybe see him playing for the Reds and Terry Francono is. Is that something that’s a possibility?

Paul Hoynes: There’s, there’s been a lot of, you know, talk about Schwaber going to the Reds. Joe, I, I’d love to see. I mean, I know one guy that would be happy to see him in, in a Reds uniform, Terry Francona. He might bat him leadoff, Joe, like they did with the Phillies a couple years ago. I mean, how many at bats you want to get that guy? As many at bats as you can, especially at that launching pad at the great, Great American ballpark. I mean, I know the Philly ballpark is, is a band box as well, but Great American ballpark, he might, he might reach the river on that one.

Joe Noga: Yeah, no doubt. Once that Schwaber does sign, whether it’s with the Reds or back in Philly or wherever free agency might take him, that’s going to start to sort of loosen up the market. And some of those top free agents who are still out there, guys like Pete Alonzo, guys like Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, Bellinger and Tucker might take a little bit longer to get their deals done, but I would expect at least the top few, the top five or six free agent guys on the market to start to have an idea of where they’re going to end up, if not have those deals announced.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, definitely. It is a domino effect, I think. You know, when one or two key players, free agents sign, it usually starts some movement. And the players, you know, they want to get this thing done, they want to get it over with so they can start training. They know where they’re going, they know where they’re going to live, they know where they’re going to have spring training. So, you know, this is, this is the time of year to get those deals done. It all, you know, the deal gets done when it gets done. Especially when you’re talking about so much money and so many years and so much risk on both sides. And option, option, you know, option option clauses and out clauses. It’s it takes a while with the.

Joe Noga: You know, talking about just the position players and the hitters and the top of the free agent market there. You know, how do the Guardians react to. After Schwarber, after Alonzo, after Alex Bregman, all sign their deals and find out where they’re all going. How does that impact what the Guardians can do and the maneuvers they can make?

Paul Hoynes: It’s really an interesting situation with the Guardians. I look at that team, I look at their stats, and I still scratch my head, Joe, and wonder how, how in the world they won the division last year with. With an offense that really, you know, was below the radar. I mean, it was, it was underwater in a lot, at a lot of different positions, but, you know, they managed to do it. If you’re Chris Antonetti or Mike Chernoff, you’ve really got to be careful. You have a ton of prospects, young guys that you like, that you brought to the big leagues that you want to see get better. But you also know that this team needs help. So how do you add to this roster without blocking the progress of your young players? And, you know, how much do you add and at what positions do you add?

Joe Noga: Do you think that maybe trade avenues would be more appealing to them because they can maybe move some of those players around and open up spots that way, or is still bringing in somebody, adding to the payroll and bringing in a contract that way, you know, an option as well?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I think, you know, trade is probably their, their best option, but that’s. I think it’s also the hardest option to do, you know, to find a partner to make a deal that’s equitable on both sides, but at least, you know, you would be moving some people around. You know, like you were saying, you create a space and fill it with the guy coming back or the other two guys coming back. And, you know, you would not be, so to speak, blocking somebody as, as it would be if you just brought in a free age. If you bring in a right fielder, a free agent right fielder, then you’ve got what, Delauder, you’ve got John Kenzie, Noel, you’ve got Nolan Jones standing behind him. So, I mean, maybe you improve the offense, but you really didn’t, you know, you’ve still got a numbers problem.

Joe Noga: As far as, you know, we’re fond of talking about the, the Stephen Kwan sort of conundrum right now for this club. You know, trade him now, trade him later. I read something where the threat of a possible lockout after the 2026 season you know, we’re, we’re less than a year away from that being a reality right now. How does the, the potential for a Stephen Kwan trade where, you know, what makes him an attractive trade commodity is that extra year of control that a team that’s acquiring him would still have over him. But if that year is 2027 and you know there’s a lockout in that year, how much does that take away his, his value for, for the Guardians?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, that’s a great point. And does. Do you get service time for that year depending on how long the lockout goes or how long the strike goes, what. Whatever the work stoppage is. And I think they fought over that last time, didn’t they, Joe? There was a lockout. The service time was a big issue. And I think, I think they ended up getting, you know, the full year or they as much, but I’m not, I can’t remember. But I know that was an issue and I’m sure it would be an issue again because if you, you know, let’s say they do trade team that gets them would have them for this year and would certainly want that year of control for 2027 as well.

Joe Noga: And I know there was a lot with the COVID season and how much, you know, service time they would get when they came back and only played a 60 game schedule, would they get a full year of service time? And they. Ultimately they did. Yeah. Just something to keep in mind, you know, when you’re talking about, oh, well, they can make this trade or not make this trade. Well, maybe they, they got turned down because they asked for too much and you know, a team says, well, we’re not even going to probably get a full 20, 27 out of him. So, you know, it’s just something to add in and factor into the, the whole trade equation. So, yeah, lots, lots going on just on the hitter side and trade side. Speaking of trades, I think the, the big factor in sort of all the, you know, whatever pitching moves go on at the winter meetings, it’s all going to start with Tarik Skubal and whether or not the Tigers are serious about trading him.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I mean, we’ve talked about this before and Joe, if I’m the Tigers boy, you’ve, you’ve got to, you know, you’ve got to be, you’ve got to knock me over and knock me down again before I trade school. I mean, I pay this guy whatever he wants, but that’s me. He could get traded, Joe, and I think the, the Guardians would be Celebrating if he got traded out of the division, but not if he got traded, as we were saying, not if he got traded to the Yankees.

Joe Noga: Right, right. Yeah, that’s, you know, you just create a, an even bigger problem for yourself down the road if school goes to a team that’s a perennial contender like that. But it’s not out of the realm of possibilities. Other guys out there, you know, Dylan Cease signed that big deal in, in Toronto that sort of got things going in the, the pitching side of things. But there’s other, you know, big name free agents out there. Framer Valdez, Ranger Suarez, guys who you know are. Michael Kelly, I’m sorry, Michael King, Merrill Kelly. These are all guys who are in line for multi year deals. So, you know, it’s all just sort of a waiting game to see who ends up where. But it’s not like the Guardians are going to be in the market for any of these guys.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I don’t think they’re going to be in a market for, you know, one of the big, you know, the one of the prime free agent starters. I mean they’ve done a good job with that rotation. I would think they’d look to add to it by, you know, a depth pitcher or maybe a candidate for the fourth or fifth spot. You know, I think, I think they would, they kind of do that. They look out for that and I think, you know, they, they never lose sight of you can that you need depth, that you need protection. But yeah, a top candidate. They’re not going to, you know, they’re not going to be into Dylan C’s contracts. Whether he gets seven for 210 or you know, seven years for 210 million. They’re not going to sign a guy for that.

Joe Noga: Right, but it could be a guy, you know, may a guy coming off an injury or working past an injury. They found a lot of success in, in doing that. You know, maybe they find a guy and stash him at AAA until he’s ready. That’s something that we’ve seen them do in the past. Something to keep an eye on for sure there as far as just, you know, the general tone of, of the, the winter meetings this year. What are you expecting when you get down there? I, I think with the, the threat of, you know, labor, you know, uncertainty. Does that change things in terms of the tone of the meetings when you’re down there?

Paul Hoynes: Think, you know, I guess it would it to a certain degree inside the just how teams are dealing with people. But are, you know, dealing with free agents? With teams and trades. But as we’ve seen, Joe, I mean it hasn’t stopped the big players from getting big contracts. Dylan Cease is a perfect example. Obviously the, the Blue Jays weren’t worried about the lockout when they gave him seven years. It might affect players on the lower tiers of the free agency or you know, some guys approaching free agency on clubs that might get traded. But for the big name guys, they’re going to get their money and they’re going to get their years.

Joe Noga: Yeah, certainly, you know, the way that we’ve seen patterns fall in the past for sure. All right. As far as, you know, just the, the guardians and their approach. We know that they’re looking for an outfield bat. We know that they right handed hitting outfield help in some way to help their, their offense. We, they’ve signed a relief pitcher, maybe a starting pitcher, depth piece. Anything else to keep in mind in terms of what Cleveland needs to accomplish in these winter meetings, Joe?

Paul Hoynes: They need offense. That’s no secret. You just look at the, what they, what they, you know, what they produce position by position and it’s astounding that they won 88 games. Their catchers hit 187. 187. 14th lowest average in the American League. They had a 6, 613 OPS. They ranked 13th. They hit 18 home runs which was tied for 9th. The center fielders hit 199, lowest batting average in the American League. They hit 14 home runs. It ranked 12th. Their OPS ranked last in the American League. The right fielders 202, which ranked 14th in the American League. Their OPS was last. They hit 13 home runs out of right field. All the right fielders combined. That was four. That was the second lowest total in the American League last year. You know, you just go down to shortstop, you know, and obviously a defensive position. But you know, not for, you know, not for contenders. You got Mookie Betts playing shortstop for the Dodgers. Guardian shortstops hit two old four for the 15th low. I mean they ranked last in the American League and batting average in the American League with 11 home runs. They ranked last in OPS with a 5, 8, 4 or OPS. I mean they, they just need offense. I think the Guardians, you know, do things unex in unexpected ways. Everyone points to the outfield. They might add an infield bat but you know, you hopefully it would be right handed and hopefully it would come with some run production because they desperately need that because there’s no way in heck that they’re going to repeat what they did. Last year.

Joe Noga: Well, you know, they went into the off season before the 2025 campaign and they knew that the assignment was to acquire pitching and they went out and did that. They addressed those issues and they, they turned their pitching staff around in, in 2025. Obviously the, the assignment this off season is offense and you know, we’re just sort of waiting to see what those moves are going to be, but it’s, it’s more like a chessboard than it is sort of checkers here for these guys. They sort of play, play long term moves and, and hope things work out like that. And you know, I, I have no, no reason to, to doubt that they, they understand what they need to do and they’re going to do it. So I just got to keep, keep, keep an eye on what their, you know, their specific moves are going to be here. All right, Hoinsey, before we get going, wanted to talk about the top 10 prospects for the Guardians franchise. The minor leaguers released by Baseball America a couple of days ago. Obviously, the number one overall pick from the 2024 draft, Travis Bazzana is on the top of the list. A guy who’s had a little bit of trouble staying on the field with some injuries, but you know, he’s hoping for a big year at aaa. We could see him up with the major league club at some point in 2026. And number two on the list, Chase Delauder, a guy that we, we got a taste of briefly in the, the outfield during the postseason. But those two guys topping the Baseball America prospects list for base, you know, for 2026 for the Guardians. What do you think of those two guys at the top of that list?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, no surprise. No surprise at all. Pizzana, number one overall pick in 2024. The first overall number one pick in franchise history. Right. You said he had some, you know, he had oblique injuries on both sides, his right and his left. Last season really stalled him. But he did reach aaa, you know, second baseman. I’m going to be interested to see Joe just, you know, once he’s healthy, what he can do in, you know, let’s say 60, 70, 80, 90 games at AAA. What do they see? What, what kind of player is he showing that he can be? What kind of power does he have? What kind of defender does he have? Does he have the, some versatility? Because right now he’s been, you know, limited to second base. And is he a second baseman, you know, you know, pure and simple or is he a guy that they have done with so many other Guys that can move around the diamond.

Joe Noga: Certainly, you know, a lot of pressure on Bazana and on the Guardians to, to get this right and get him get his major league career started off on the right foot. So it’ll be, it’ll be interesting to see how he progresses through the early part of the season for sure. Number three on the list. Interesting, you know, choice there. I, you know, I, I heard that Angel Hanau was a guy, you know, a lot of scouts and a lot of guys who ranked prospects thought, thought very highly of the baseball. America went with Ralphie Velasquez as the number three overall prospect for the Guardians. He’s the number 23 pick in the 2023 draft in the first round for Cleveland. Last year, a breakout year for him. He made it up to double a Ackerman, hit 22 home runs, drove in 85 with an 8, 839 OPS. He’s 6 3, 240 pounds, plays first base. This is a guy who, you know, he, he can, he, he can hit the ball out of the park, he get the ball hard. And this is exactly the kind of bat that the, this offense needs. As long as he’s given the opportunity to develop.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, you know, they drafted him as a catcher, a high school catcher out of California. He got in the pro ball. They moved him to first base because he said, I think he may have, he may have outgrown the catching position. He’s a big dude and he’s got some pop and can’t wait to, you know, see him climb the ladder here, Joe, because he’s exactly what they need, as you said, left handed hitter, he’s got some pop, you know, and let’s see what he does. You know what, I’m just looking at the strikeout totals. 85 strikeouts, 40 walks at Lake County, 19, 19 strikeouts and 12 walks at AA Akron. So that’s encouraging.

Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s that, that’s good to see for sure. And you know, he’s only 20 years old, so, you know, the timeline might not be 2026, but certainly 2027 could be in play there for, for Ralphie Velasquez. The rest of the list, I’ll run through it. We talked about Hanau, you know, a couple of days ago on the podcast and just an outstanding prospect. Like seeing him swing the bat again, you know, a lot of, you know, possibilities there with him at shortstop. Parker Messick, number five on the list. We saw him throughout all of September in, in Cleveland, you know, a lot of, lot of promise there and a lot to look forward to. Doty, who was a competitive balance, you know, first round pick for out of high school. They used some of that extra bonus pool money to, to convince him to, to, you know, sign and he’s the number six prospect, last year’s number one overall pick or 2025’s number one overall pick. Jace Laviolette, an outfielder who’s never even swung a bat in a professional game. But he’s the seventh ranked prospect right now. Cal Stephen, the right hander they acquired in the trade for Shane Bieber. He checks in at number eight. Jason Cheerio, the younger brother of Jackson Cheerio from the Brewers. He’s an outfielder at number nine. And Cooper Engel, you know, sort of the great hope at the catching position that maybe there’s some offense there. He’s the, the number 10 prospect. So those are the top 10 prospects by baseball Ref. Baseball. I’m sorry, Baseball America, you know, all of these guys, we could see them within the next two to three years at the major league level.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah. And the thing that jumps out at you, Joe, on that list, as we were talking about before the podcast, there’s only two pitchers on that list. The rest of these guys are position players. Maybe a little bit of a change in philosophy by the front front office or this is just the way the players presented themselves on the draft board. But I think it’s probably a recognition by the organization that they need offense. This is an organization that needs an injection of hitting, you know, so, you know, I think that’s what this top 10 is. I should say three pitchers with Stefan.

Joe Noga: Right. Well, but, you know, Messick. Messick’s pretty much already made his debut and I don’t think he’ll be on this prospects list very long if he’ you know, on the roster at some point during the season, so.

Paul Hoynes: Exactly. But Lavioletta is a guy that I’m anxious to see. Big guy Joe, which has, you know, kind of gone against the way they picked hitters. You know, they went with Bazana as the number one overall pick when there were sluggers all around him that they could have taken Kurtz, you know, who had the huge breakout year with, with the A’s American League rookie of the year, the Kanji Ohlone. They could have taken him, but they went more for, you know, the middle of the diamond infielder in Bazana. La Violeta’s, you know, a pure hitter and big, strong, physical guys. We’ll have to see how that, how that works. Out.

Joe Noga: Yeah, I could listen to you pronounce Italian last names just all day long. I could do an entire podcast of having how bad did I butcher that Caglion? I think that’s okay. We’re going to have many years of saying Jack Paglione’s name game hitting home runs against the Guardians for the the Royals. I’m pretty sure of that. So don’t worry. We’ll work on it. That’s going to wrap up today’s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. Lindsay, have a safe trip to Florida and we’ll talk to you next. Live from the the Winter Meetings.

Paul Hoynes: Joe.