Cleveland, OH

MLB Front Office Rankings, 2024 season: No. 25, Cleveland Guardians

Published

1 year ago

November 24, 2024

MLB Front Office Rankings, 2024 season: No. 25, Cleveland Guardians

Recap: How the front office rating works

This is one in a series of assessments of the performances of front offices for the 2024 season. Each front office is given a score based on the total Wins Above Average of the players they either traded for, signed via free agency or extension, or promoted from their farm system, since the conclusion of the 2023 post-season.

A front office’s score also includes the total Wins Above Average of players traded away or lost to free agency since the end of the 2023 post-season. The front offices are being presented in order of their total value from No. 30 (worst) all the way to No. 1 (best).

These ratings do not necessarily reflect the final standings. Front offices are measured based only on the talent they acquired or lost during the past 12 months. Players on multi-year contracts, or already under team control, don’t count toward this rating.

25. Cleveland Guardians: Chris Antonetti, President of Baseball Operations; Michael Chernoff, General Manager, -5.6.

The Guardians won 92 games this past season, doing so despite occasional front office interference, particularly on the pitching staff.

Seeking to improve on a lackluster 76-86 2023 season, the veteran team of Antonetti and Chernoff— who have been running things in Cleveland nearly a decade—identified the starting rotation as the area most in need of support for new manager Stephen Vogt.

They were right about the problem, but wrong about the methodology in solving it.

One of the first things Antonetti and Chernoff did last offseason was allow Reynaldo Lopez to walk in free agency. Lopez, after all, had been a lightly used afterthought in Cleveland’s bullpen, making just a dozen 2023 appearances covering 11 innings.

The Atlanta Braves saw in Lopez what the Guardians’ front office failed to recognize: a front-rank starter. Lopez put together a 1.99 ERA for the Braves in 25 starts, good for +3.9 WAA.

The Guardians, who got 25 starts from only two of the 14 pitchers who took the bump to open games for them this past season, could have used Lopez’ consistency, particularly in their ALCS showdown with New York.

Having axed Lopez, the Guardians proceeded to flesh out their roster by bringing back Carlos Carrasco, a former Clevelander most recently toiling with the Mets. In 21 starts, Carrasco went 3-10 with a 5.64 ERA and -2.1 WAA.

That functional swap—Carrasco for Lopez—cost the Guardians six games by itself, according to WAA.

Sep 30, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (40) throws against the New York Mets in the seventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Five most impactful Antonetti-Chernoff moves in 2023-24

Transaction	Net Impact (Wins Above Average)
Let Reynaldo Lopez hit free agency Advertisement	-3.9
Signed free agent Carlos Carrasco	-2.1
Promoted Hunter Gaddis	+1.7 Advertisement
Promoted Cade Smith	+1.7
Promoted Tim Herrin	+1.2

How, then, did Cleveland manage to win 92 games and the division? It’s a good question with only a partial answer.

Part of that answer lies in the fact that four of the Guardians’ most productive players in 2024—Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, Andres Gimenez and Emmanuel Clase—all were playing on contracts signed prior to the end of the 2023 season, meaning their data does not impact the 2024 Antonetti-Chernoff rating.

It’s also worth considering the team’s commitment to a bullpen-first strategy. While relievers are notoriously unreliable, and Cleveland’s commitment to them bit the Guardians badly in the postseason, it worked well for the long in-season grind. Three rookie-status system arms—Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Tim Herrin—combined to produce 216 innings in support of Clase, all with sub-2.00 ERAs and solid WAAs.

Naturally, even dominant relievers affect wins above average less than an everyday position player or starting pitcher, as they just aren’t in games long enough to truly swing outcomes in tangible ways.

The Guardians also played two games above their 90-72 Pythagorean record. Beyond that, though, there isn’t a perfect explanation for the season the Guardians had. Sometimes baseball doesn’t lend itself to exact quantifiability.

For the most part, Antonetti and Chernoff played the hand they had been dealt prior to 2024. Their personnel moves only affected 42 major leaguers—a relatively modest number—and split right down the middle, half positive, half negative.

Previous Rankings

27. Chicago White Sox, Chris Getz, -10.2

26. Oakland Athletics, David Forst, -6.8

25. Cleveland Guardians, Chis Antonetti and Michael Chernoff, -5.6

Next: 24. Detroit Tigers, Scott Harris, -5.3

1 dead, 1 in critical condition after highway shooting: Cleveland EMS

Published

1 hour ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

1 dead, 1 in critical condition after highway shooting: Cleveland EMS

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A woman is dead, and a man is in critical condition after a shooting on the highway early Saturday morning.

Cleveland EMS told 19 News that EMS responded to I-71N and the I-490 split for a reported shooting.

EMS said a woman in her 30s was pronounced dead on the scene.

A man was taken to Metro Health in critical condition.

According to EMS, another woman in her 30s refused transport.

19 News is working to learn more about what led up to the shooting and if any arrests have been made.

This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.

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Cleveland, OH

Looking back on Bills’ last trip to Cleveland

Published

14 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Looking back on Bills’ last trip to Cleveland

The last time the Buffalo Bills played in Cleveland, they were still raw and hungry, which is way different than the grizzled, yet youth-driven bunch that’ll be heading there for the first time in six years on Sunday.

The Bills were in excellent shape at 6-2 in Week 10 of the 2019 NFL season and rolled into town to face a Browns team that had all the hype before the season, but had lost four straight and were at 2-6.

What happened last time Bills played Browns in Cleveland?

Baker Mayfield and the Browns drove down the field in six plays for a touchdown on the opening drive, with the rival from Josh Allen’s draft class finding Jarvis Landry for the game’s first points. Austin Seibert missed an extra point, and that turned to be critical late in the game.

Nov 10, 2019; Cleveland, OH, USA; Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) is hit by Bills defensive tackle Star Lotulelei (98) during the first half at FirstEnergy Stadium. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

TRENDING: Bills must slow down Browns’ record-hunting force on Sunday

Sandwiched around a run-heavy Bills touchdown drive, capped off by an Allen 10-yard scamper that gave them a 7-6 lead in the second quarter, was a very satisfying sequence for Bills fans.

On two of the Browns’ next three possessions following their opening drive, they had the ball inside the Bills’ 3-yard line for 11 plays. Cleveland had eight plays on the first possession, and even though there were a couple of penalties on the Bills, Buffalo had a goal-line stand.

The Bills stopped the Browns on three straight goal-to-go plays on the second such possession, and Cleveland lined up to go for it on 4th-and-goal. However, a false start penalty prompted them to kick a field goal and make it a 9-7 game.

Nov 10, 2019; Cleveland, OH, USA; Bills kicker Stephen Hauschka (4) and Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (21) watch as Hauschka misses a field goal during the first half at FirstEnergy Stadium. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Five questions before Josh Allen, Bills face Browns

Buffalo wasn’t as fortunate on the next drive, as Stephen Hauschka shanked a 34-yard field goal wide left with time winding down, leaving the Browns with their lead into halftime.

Out of the locker room, the Bills got an immediate spark. Corey Bojorquez downed a punt at the 7-yard line, then Tremaine Edmunds sacked Mayfield in the end zone for a safety on the next play to tie the game.

The Browns tacked on a field goal on their next drive to take the lead while the Bills’ offense was stuck in quicksand, with three punts and a turnover on downs on their first four second-half possessions.

Nov 10, 2019; Cleveland, OH, USA; Bills middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49) tackles Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) in the end zone for a safety during the second half at FirstEnergy Stadium. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

MORE: James Cook chasing Jonathan Taylor and Bills’ rushing record

Allen got his act together and led a seven-play, 48-yard drive and ran in a score from a yard out to give Buffalo the lead back with 5:26 left. He finished the day 22-of-41 for 266 yards passing and scored twice on the ground, but was off that day.

Mayfield responded in kind, finding Rashard Higgins in the end zone to reclaim the lead after a long drive of his own. The Bills had one more shot, but Hauschka whiffed from 53, handing the Bills a 19-16 loss.

The Bills’ and Browns’ dynamics are much more different than they were in 2019, but there can be that lingering reminder of that game for Allen as the AFC playoff race nears its end.

Nov 10, 2019; Cleveland, OH, USA; Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) shakes hands with Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) after the game between the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills at FirstEnergy Stadium. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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Cleveland, OH

Cleveland salt mine works year-round to keep Ohio roads safe

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Cleveland salt mine works year-round to keep Ohio roads safe

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Road safety across Ohio begins 1,800 feet below Lake Erie at Cleveland’s Cargill salt mine near Whiskey Island.

19 News made the journey under ground to Cleveland’s Cargill salt time.

Superintendent of production Andrew Staker describes the operation as a “mini-city” where about 250 employees produce the salt that clears our roads and sidewalks.

“We provide over half the salt used here in the state of Ohio. Our salt also goes all over the Great Lakes Region even Virginia,” said Staker.

Thousands of tons of salt pass through this belt, and 500-700 trucks are loaded with salt each day.

Staker said his team works nonstop.

“It’s a big misconception that the mine is only busy during the wintertime,” said Staker. “We prepare in the springtime, so it is full giddy up. We are making salt all year round.”

Just like everyone else, Staker and his time are feeling the effects of winter’s early arrival.

“We take a lot of it snowfall by snowfall, so as demand ramps up, our teams here will put in extra overtime days to be able to meet customer demand,” said Staker.

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