The Guardians built a foundation in 2022, hope to make more noise in 2023, beyond

The Guardians did the groundwork in 2022. They built a foundation. They moved the soil and poured in the concrete.

The 2022 Guardians far exceeded the expectations of anyone outside of their own organization. The youngest team in baseball with question marks throughout the lineup, most projections had Guardians winning about 77 games. It was seen as nearly as likely that they finish last in the division, while they gave extra time to their young players, than first.

The Guardians front office and manager Terry Francona had earned the benefit of the doubt with what they had accomplished in recent years, setting up the team's future while hoping to contend now, and doing all of it while the payroll limitations were severely lowered each winter.

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What followed was a revelation of how a team can transform its strategy to fit its personnel and come together with a clubhouse full of players in their mid-20s, able to handle any adversity or a pressure-packed playoff run like a team far more its senior. The Guardians played their brand of baseball and did so without apology.

A division title. A 92-win season. The No. 3 seed in the American League playoffs. A sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card Series. And a fight with the New York Yankees that went to a decisive Game 5 in the AL Division Series.

The Guardians were baseball's most surprising team in 2022.

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"A lot of pride. Proved a lot of people wrong," pitcher Shane Bieber said after the Guardians' Game 5 loss in New York. "No matter what people thought of us, we always expected the best out of ourselves and expected more and it came down to the last out and [we] feel like we fought to the very end.

"It’s kind of the theme of the season. We rally together and do things as a team, as a bunch, as a family and we’ll continue to do that going into the offseason and into next year."

That was part of Francona's message to the team after their ALDS loss to the Yankees. Because in reality, the Guardians weren't supposed to be there. They weren't supposed to be in the playoffs. They weren't supposed to take the Yankees to the brink of elimination or be one game away from the American League Championship Series.

At least, that was according to those outside of the organization.

"Probably further than anybody except the people in that room thought they would go. I just reminded them of that," Francona said of his postgame message. "I know they are hurting right now, because they care, and they worked unbelievably hard. But I hope as that wears off, they will realize just how proud we are of them and how much we care about them. And also reminded them that this needs to be a starting place for us. This can't just be a good story this year. We need to take this and go, because I think we have a chance to have something really special."

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The Guardians were the youngest team in baseball and actually got even younger as the season progressed and they called up more prospects in favor of veterans.

The active and 40-man rosters are built entirely with the future in focus. It's the most controllable long-term roster in the majors. The Guardians had 17 major-league debuts in 2022, which tied a franchise record. They're younger than the average Triple-A team. Their payroll of $69 million was 27th in baseball, 13th in the AL and 12th among the 12 postseason teams.

"I think it's a really cool foundation that we can definitely build from this," said rookie outfielder Steven Kwan, arguably one of the team's MVPs in 2022 while he handled the leadoff spot. "Like I said, it's really fresh right now but I'm sure after a couple of days we'll be able to reflect, learn some things from this situation we've been in and hopefully move on from there."

Cleveland Guardians already preparing for 2023 MLB season

The Guardians answered a number of questions in 2022 and heading into 2023.

They secured stable foundations in left field (Kwan), right field (Oscar Gonzalez), second base (Andres Gimenez, another candidate as the team's 2022 MVP), the starting rotation (Triston McKenzie took a major step forward) and several spots in the bullpen (Emmanuel Clase, James Karinchak, Trevor Stephan, Sam Hentges, Eli Morgan and more). Jose Ramirez, Clase and Myles Straw, who played Gold Glove-level defense in center field and came around offensively at the end of the season, were all signed to long-term deals.

An outfield that was rife with question marks now appears to have a rock solid future with Kwan (potential rookie of the year finalist), Straw and Gonzalez (who had the game-winning hit in three postseason games), along with top positional player prospect George Valera making his way through the minors and Nolan Jones, Will Brennan and Will Benson getting their first taste of the majors.

Time and time again, the Guardians called up another rookie who stepped into a key role and delivered. The Guardians leaned into their youth movement and found success at nearly every turn.

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"It was great. It kind of became the standard, right?" Bieber said of the contributions of so many rookie position players. "A lot of debuts, a lot of newness just throughout the locker room and throughout the season, so it seemed like everybody continued to follow suit, step right up and contribute right away.

"And there were so many different pieces, different keys to our success this year on the position player side — phenomenal defense, timely hitting and some incredible late rallies. A lot of memories that I’m sure we’ll look back fondly on, but at the same time, it is the truth that we've got work to do and we’ll continue to build off of what we’ve started this year."

That isn't to mention that Gimenez and Ramirez (who played about half the year through a thumb injury that will now require surgery) should both finish in the top-10 in AL MVP voting, and both could be in the top six or seven.

Clase established himself as arguably baseball's best reliever. Bieber put together another ace-level season, albeit quietly, showing that a velocity dip and some mechanical adjustments coming off an injury wouldn't slow him down all that much.

Amed Rosario, who Ramirez is lobbying to be re-signed, again delivered and was a key part of the lineup in the No. 2 spot.

A lot went right for the Guardians in 2022, and a lot went wrong for the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins. Both Central Division rivals were hit hard with injuries, much like Cleveland was in 2021.

But much of what went right for the Guardians was about establishing that foundation of youth. It was clear, as early as the spring, that the Guardians were building something with a ton of potential moving forward. It just wasn't clear that potential would begin to hit so rapidly.

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The Guardians didn't achieve their ultimate goal. They came up nine wins short. They also weren't supposed to be anywhere close to playoff baseball. They know they've started to build something that can not only special, but sustainable.

"Our plan was to shock the world through the whole thing," said catcher Austin Hedges, one of the few veterans on the roster. "Winning the division was the first part, wild-card round, put ourselves in position to beat the Yankees and we wanted to win the World Series, but that’s a good Yankees team. But the cool thing is, now we got a bunch of dudes with a ton of playoff experience in the most hostile environment you can imagine. And watch out for the Guards next year."

The Guardians can return effectively the entire roster in not only 2023, but 2024 as well. And much of it can remain in Cleveland through the 2028 season.

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That youth wasn't a crutch as it can sometimes be in a professional setting. It seemed to bring the clubhouse together even more. It gave them a feeling of seeming invincibility, that no obstacle was too great, no deficit was insurmountable.

The Guardians were about as dangerous as any team in the game when trailing, even with an offense that didn't have the kind of power enjoyed by the Yankees, Houston Astros or others. The culture in Cleveland is something that can't be quantified in terms of how it impacted winning. But it also can't be ignored.

"I feel like that’s honestly the biggest thing with this team. Everybody loves each other," Straw said. "We hang out every night, different people. It’s never the same people. We hang out in the rooms after the games. Pitchers, bullpen, starters, which just shows how close this team is. That’s what it takes to be a really good team, is having that unity, and that’s what we do. We love each other. That means most. That’s what’s gonna pull this team to go to the next level."

Few seemed to enjoy the run more than Hedges, who is one of the few within the organization with an uncertain future. He can become a free agent this winter. After the Guardians' 15-inning, AL Wild Card Series Game 2 win over the Rays, which Gonzalez won with a walk-off home run, Hedges celebrated shirtless and, quite a bit later, was still bare-chested on the field once the celebration had spilled out of the clubhouse.

He hadn't had much success in his career before this season.

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"This is the most special group I’ve even been a part of," Hedges said. "I looked forward to coming to the clubhouse every single day. What a joy these young guys, this staff, really everybody here, what a joy to work with. And it’s a year I’m never gonna forget."

The 2022 season could be a springboard for the Guardians into a run of contention with the potential for it to be a bright spot in the franchise's history. In the wake of their final loss to the Yankees, the clubhouse was mostly quiet. Some players sat at their lockers, collecting their thoughts. Others shared in the pain of a postseason run that had come to a sudden and painful end.

But the feeling is that they're building something that, as Francona said, could be special. They left the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium nearly silent. Their hope is to make a lot more noise in 2023.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians built a foundation with surprising 2022 season