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Shane Bieber is back. Luis Ortiz will be plugging into the rotation. And Austin Hedges will create a masterful chemistry in the clubhouse.

Cleveland has chipped away at a few holes in its roster this offseason, but here’s the big remaining question that it has to try to answer before Spring Training: Have the Guardians done enough to make sure they don’t regress in 2025?

You remember the hype that was created going into 2023. How could it not be there? A team that seemed like it could be in for a rebuilding season in '22 instead emerged as one of the most exciting teams in baseball. From start to finish, Cleveland was the youngest team of all 30 clubs, and it showed. There was a youthful energy that led the group to the postseason behind a “Why not us?” attitude. Steven Kwan proved to be one of the best leadoff hitters around. Emmanuel Clase was elite. The entire group proved that small ball and scrappy play can still produce wins.

It was a different type of season, but it was fun. And the expectations were sky high for 2023 -- only for the Guardians to stumble to a sub-.500 record.

That can’t happen again. Cleveland knows that 2024 has to be the springboard that leads to even more success in the future. A step back yet again would be detrimental to a group that’s trying to win now while José Ramírez is still in his prime.

That starts with starting pitching. Are Bieber and Ortiz enough? If Bieber would be in the rotation on Opening Day, then it’d be easier to say yes. However, the team’s ace probably won’t be back until June or July after having Tommy John surgery last April. That means Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Ben Lively and Ortiz will have to carry the team to the All-Star break, while also relying on Triston McKenzie or Logan Allen -- both of whom struggled in ’24 -- or even No. 15 prospect Joey Cantillo to make some contributions.

Cantillo and No. 25 prospect Doug Nikhazy are the next two in line to be everyday arms in the rotation. But as a certain former Guardians manager (and now Reds skipper) always said: If you think you have enough pitching, get more. So maybe the organization will feel the need to add more arms before Spring Training.

And then there’s the offense. The Guardians preached a new yet simple concept last winter: Add impact. The approach was to be OK with more swing and miss if it meant exchanging it for more power and better contact than just putting the ball in play weakly. It worked in the beginning of the season and again at the end, but the lineup can always get better.

Will that come in the outfield? Lane Thomas will be in either center field or right field, so one of those positions could also be addressed via trade or free agency (should the Guardians try to use the financial flexibility created by trading Andrés Giménez). If not, Jhonkensy Noel and Will Brennan can have another chance to prove they can produce more consistently than they did last year.

Noel may also be in the first-base mix now that Josh Naylor has been traded to Arizona. The money Cleveland saved by moving Naylor immediately went to free-agent first baseman Carlos Santana, who should help boost the offense without Naylor’s power in the lineup. But the Guardians still need to make sure this move is enough to benefit this club to be better than what it was last season.

It’s a massive jigsaw puzzle, as it always is. Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti didn’t rule out the idea of continuing to reinvest money back into the 2025 roster before Spring Training starts when he chatted with local media just before the holidays. They’ve already had a busy winter, but it might not be done just yet.