This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Baseball has officially reached the offseason. While the Rangers celebrated their first World Series title in franchise history on Wednesday night at Chase Field, the other 29 clubs prepared to enter offseason mode. Players are set to hit free agency and teams need to get their rosters in order. The Guardians have had a few extra weeks to get prepared for the winter and they’ve gone through countless interviews to search for their new manager. But there are plenty of other items on their to-do list.

Let’s take a look at Cleveland’s offseason FAQ:

Which players are free agents?

Three new faces who joined the Guardians late in the season will enter free agency, including INF/OF Kole Calhoun, LHP Lucas Giolito and RHP Reynaldo López.

Are any of those free agents expected to be re-signed?

Calhoun and Giolito will probably find homes elsewhere. In a perfect world, López would be a perfect fit in Cleveland’s bullpen, but he’ll probably demand a higher price than the organization typically pays free agent relievers, so the best guess is that he also will not return.

Which players have options?

None.

Who is eligible for salary arbitration?

RHP Shane Bieber, RHP Cal Quantrill, OF Ramón Laureano, 1B Josh Naylor, RHP James Karinchak, C Cam Gallagher, RHP Enyel De Los Santos and RHP Nick Sandlin.

Jan. 12 is the deadline for teams to agree on one-year contracts with arbitration-eligible players.

Are any of them non-tender candidates, and when does the club need to make that decision?

Gallagher is the most likely non-tender candidate. Bo Naylor will now be in the Majors full-time and can handle the majority of the playing time. Plus, David Fry made such a positive impression on the club and has earned the right to fight for more playing time, whether that be behind the plate or elsewhere in the field. The catching pipeline isn’t as strong as other areas for the Guardians, but it still wouldn’t be shocking to see Gallagher be non-tendered.

The other two possibilities are Karinchak and Laureano. Karinchak hasn’t been nearly as dominant in relief since June 2022. He was sent to Triple-A Columbus multiple times over the last two seasons to try to get back on the right path, but the righty has yet to show consistency with his command to gain the trust to be a late-inning reliever again. Maybe the Guardians aren’t ready to give up just yet, but his dip in performance will at least make him a consideration.

Laureano could be a solid fourth outfield option for the Guardians, but the team’s outfield situation isn’t the easiest to figure out. Steven Kwan is one of the best left fielders in the Majors, but Myles Straw has been locked in at center field -- despite his poor offense -- because he signed a five-year extension last year. If the Guardians are going to add to this lineup, right field may be the easiest spot to fill, but they will still have Will Brennan and Oscar Gonzalez to look at before George Valera gets into the mix. Because everything could get overcrowded, Laureano may get nudged out.

Non-tender decisions must be made before the Nov. 17 deadline.

Who needs to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid the Rule 5 Draft?

No. 3 (as ranked by MLB Pipeline) prospect RHP Daniel Espino, No. 19 RHP Tanner Burns, No. 24 OF Johnathan Rodriguez, INF Aaron Bracho, RHP Mason Hickman, INF/OF Micah Pries, INF Daniel Schneemann and RHP Cade Smith would all be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter.

We know Espino, who has been held back by injuries the last few years, will be added. Smith could be an interesting bullpen arm for the Guardians and could make a case to be added, as well. But it’ll come down to Rodriguez to see if he earned his spot on the 40-man roster after a big Minor League season between Triple- and Double-A, hitting .286 with an .897 OPS.

Will the Guardians be active in free agency?

After their two big (and uncharacteristic) free-agent signings in Josh Bell and Mike Zunino failed to pan out for them this year, let’s assume they’ll avoid that for 2024.

Who might they be willing to trade?

If they’re going to add, they’re going to have to trade. As always, no one would be off the table other than José Ramírez. Bieber will be one to watch this winter. If he had stayed healthy in 2023, he would have probably been moved at the Trade Deadline. Instead, he missed two months in the second half of the season with a shoulder injury. How much will that diminish his trade value? Plus, now he only has one year of control remaining. Maybe Cleveland can’t get the bat it needs with a Bieber trade, forcing the club to look at other options. But Bieber will certainly be a talking point all winter long.