What's next for Guardians after Bell deal?

SAN DIEGO -- Aaron Judge may have stolen the national spotlight of the 2022 Winter Meetings, agreeing to return to the Yankees, but Guardians fans shouldn’t let that cast a shadow on the steps Cleveland made to improve its offense during a short stay in California.

The lineup should improve in 2023 with the reported signing of Josh Bell, who can bring some pop from either side of the plate (especially the right side) to the middle of the lineup. Now, there’s more to do.

Just because the Winter Meetings are wrapping up doesn’t mean the Guardians are done making moves. There are a handful of ways for Cleveland to improve before the 2023 season gets underway.

BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS

1. Catcher: This is the biggest need for Cleveland. While the team could choose to leave the duties in inexperienced hands with rookie Bo Naylor, the club's No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, it seems clear that the Guardians are ready to add a well-rounded catcher that can provide more offense from the position than the team had last year, as it owned the worst catcher batting average (.178) and slugging percentage (.265) in the Majors.

2. Starting pitcher: Is this as much of a necessity as a catcher? No. But if the Guardians are serious about building upon the foundation that was set in 2022, adding another decent starter could be what raises their level of competition.

3. Bullpen depth: Aside from losing Bryan Shaw, the Guardians’ bullpen is set to return in 2023, however there’s always a need to find more relief arms. The club could benefit from another veteran presence like Shaw’s and would certainly welcome a lefty to pair with Sam Hentges, replacing the void left by Anthony Gose, who underwent Tommy John surgery.

RULE 5 DRAFT

The Guardians didn’t make any additions during the Major League portion of Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft in San Diego, but the club lost a pair of prospects from its Minor League system.

The Rockies selected righty reliever Kevin Kelly from Triple-A Columbus with the eighth pick of the Major League portion of the Draft before sending Kelly to the Rays. The Marlins followed by selecting righty reliever Nic Enright from Triple-A Columbus.

Kelly owned a 1.11 ERA in 16 games with Double-A Akron last season before pitching to a 2.73 ERA in 32 appearances with Triple-A Columbus, while Enright owned a combined 2.88 ERA in 48 outings between Double-A and Triple-A.

DEALS DONE

The club hasn’t confirmed the deal, but sources told MLB.com that Bell and the Guardians have agreed to a two-year contract with an opt-out clause after the 2023 season.

The biggest benefit for the Guardians in adding Bell is that he can be a solid option to platoon with Josh Naylor at first base or can man the position when Naylor is in right field, which the team is planning for him to do again in 2023.

On days that Naylor is at first, Bell can slide into the DH spot. A switch-hitter, Bell brings serious thump from both sides of the plate. Throughout his career, he skewed slightly better from the left side, but in '22, those splits reversed and he was better as a righty. Regardless of which side Bell hits from, he brings immense power, having authored a trio of 25-plus homer seasons, including 37 taters in 2019 -- and right-handed bats are a need for Cleveland.

FRONT OFFICE’S BOTTOM LINE

The Guardians are never ones to divulge many details about their offseason plans, but president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff made it easy to deduce that acquiring a catcher this offseason is a must -- despite their excitement for Bo Naylor’s future. With just five Major League games under Naylor’s belt, the remarks from the front office this week indicate that the team isn’t ready to have him serve as the starter just yet.

“We’re super optimistic on Bo and remain super optimistic on him, but he’s had half a year in Triple-A,” Chernoff said. “There’s no right answer. We’re just balancing, like Chris said, what’s best for him, what’s best for the team and how do we match that up on a time frame.”

“And the competitive place of our team also complicates that, right?” Antonetti said. “We’re not in a position just to see, ‘Oh, let’s just see how it goes,’ right? Because we feel like we’ve got a good team that’s capable of competing.”