How will Guardians attack upcoming Winter Meetings? 

CLEVELAND -- Last offseason, the Guardians signaled that they had room to increase the team’s payroll, but as CBA negotiations continued into March, the team was left with a smaller window in which to make an impact move, either in the trade market or via free agency. Left with a young team that ultimately saw the debut of 17 rookies, Cleveland arrived as a contender sooner than anyone expected, claiming the AL Central title and advancing to the AL Division Series.

The club now finds itself back in the same situation, only with much higher expectations from a fanbase eager to see an increase in payroll from $68 million in 2022, the lowest in the division and among the lowest in MLB. The team, once again, is saying all the right things and has the opportunity a full offseason offers to deliver.

Cleveland’s 40-man roster is at its max. It seems more likely that the Guardians do most of their adding via trade than free agency. Will anything pick up steam next week in San Diego?

Here’s everything you need to know heading into the Winter Meetings, which begin Sunday.

Key events
• Sunday, Dec. 4: HOF Contemporary Era ballot results released (Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy, Rafael Palmeiro, Curt Schilling)

• Monday, Dec. 5: All-MLB Team announced

• Tuesday, Dec. 6: Inaugural Draft Lottery, AL/NL Relievers of Year announced

• Wednesday, Dec. 7: Rule 5 Draft

Club needs
The Guardians need a catcher, and they could bring back Austin Hedges or venture elsewhere. The second priority is a right-handed bat that can add some much-needed pop to the offense. It wouldn’t be surprising to see that type of bat slide in at first base and platoon with Josh Naylor.

Potential trade candidates
The Guardians have tremendous middle-infield depth to utilize in a potential trade. Owen Miller, Andrés Giménez, Angel Martínez, Tyler Freeman, Gabriel Arias, Juan Brito, Brayan Rocchio, Amed Rosario and José Tena are on Cleveland’s 40-man roster. Aside from Brito, Martinez and Tena, the other six will all be Major League-ready at some point in 2023. It makes sense to use this depth in some sort of trade package. Cleveland could also look toward the end of its rotation and deal someone like Zach Plesac.

Prospect to know
Bo Naylor, Cleveland’s No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Naylor appeared in five regular-season games this season and sat the bench during the playoffs as Cleveland wanted to get him some experience with the idea that he’ll gain much more in 2023. However, he doesn't seem quite ready to be the everyday backstop just yet, so the Guardians are looking for a starting catcher.

Naylor spent last offseason getting his swing back in order and caught the player development staff’s attention this season, hitting .263 with an .889 OPS in 118 games split between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. His defense continues to improve and he’s always finding better ways to interact with his pitching staff -- he's even learned Spanish to communicate as efficiently with every teammate as possible.

Also of interest are outfielder George Valera, the team’s No. 2 prospect, and Rocchio, No. 4, both inching toward their MLB debuts. And fans will want to be sure top prospect Daniel Espino rebounds from his right shoulder injury and continues to progress through the farm system.

Rule 5 Draft
Cleveland protected its two Draft-eligible Top 30 prospects, Martinez and Joey Cantillo. Someone to watch as the Draft gets underway is Peyton Battenfield, who was in Cleveland’s Top 30 in 2021 but wasn’t as effective this season.

Battenfield owned a 3.92 ERA in 28 starts with Columbus and his walk rate (3.3 per nine innings) nearly doubled since 2021 as his strikeout ratio fell from 11.4 in ’21 to 6.4 this season. The Guardians sent outfielder Jordan Luplow and righty DJ Johnson to the Rays for Battenfield at the ’21 Trade Deadline.

Burning question
Will Cleveland spend money? The term “financial flexibility” has floated around the past couple of offseasons, but the Guardians have yet to take advantage of wiggle room in their payroll. This doesn’t mean the team will suddenly sign the biggest free agent on the market (sorry, Aaron Judge), but it could mean inking someone like Trey Mancini or trading for a backstop like Sean Murphy or Alejandro Kirk. It could also mean finding a way to extend Shane Bieber or young stars like Triston McKenzie or Steven Kwan. There are a handful of ways the Guardians can start to loosen the purse strings. Now, it’s just a matter of whether they do so to improve in 2023.