Yesterday, it was announced that Guardians’ rookie, Parker Messick, will finish in the top three vote-getters for both AL Cy Young and Rookie of the Year.
Because of Messick’s accomplishment, the Guardians will earn an extra compensation pick in the 2026 draft. This now has the Guardians set to pick five times in the top 70-75 picks, which will dramatically increase their bonus pool as well as offer them multiple chances at selecting among the top talent in the draft. They’ll have their normal first
round pick, a compensation pick connected to Messick following the first round, a replacement pick in the second round for Logan Schmidt not signing, their secound-round pick and a comp-B pick after the second round. So, if there’s no major league baseball season, we will all need to become MLB draft prospect-geeks – If you’re not already one!
No updates from the Emmanuel Clase-Luis Ortiz trial yet, except that various Guardians’ players, execs and coaches may be called upon to testify, and the jury selection process is continuing into today.
MLB Trade Rumors released their free agent projections list here. For whatever it’s worth, the Guardians were predicted by one writer to sign free-agent reliever Paul Blackburn, mentioned as a decent fit for Ty France, and that’s it. Sounds about right, actually, only they won’t pay for Blackburn, I am sure.
