New Arrival: John Means, sp, Cleveland Guardians
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Back in 2019, Baltimore pitcher John Means had a heck of a season. He won 12 games on an Orioles squad that went 54-108–he was the winning pitcher in roughly 22% of the team’s games. He was an All-Star, finished second in the AL ROY race, and ended the season with a 131 ERA+. He was a little old for a rookie at 26, but the future seemed bright enough.

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Means’ career has been riddled with injuries since, limiting his time on the mound. Other than his 2021 season, when he logged 146.2 innings, Means hasn’t surpassed 44 innings in a season.
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So, Cleveland, one of the game’s premier bargain bin shoppers, jumped at the chance to sign Means this past offseason as he recovers from his second TJ surgery. The hope is that he will return late in the 2025 season and help the Guards’ pitching staff. As of last month, he was progressing towards pitching off the mound…so that’s something.
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Oh, just in case you didn’t know, Means isn’t the only player that Cleveland is hoping will bounce back from TJ surgery and help with their late-season rotation. Shane Bieber is also working his way back and should be available at some point in 2025.
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Assuming both come back, a late-season rotation of Bieber, Means, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Luis L. Ortiz, and/or Slade Cecconi could be pretty good. Or a dumpster fire. I don’t know.