Real estate agents say the three most important factors in getting a good price for selling a home are location, location and location. Likewise, management views the three most important factors in keeping the Guardians relevant in the American League Central Division as pitching, pitching and pitching. Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti was on Zoom on Dec. 13 to discuss the decision to trade Gold Glove second baseman Andres Gimenez plus right-handed relief pitcher Nick Sandlin to the Blue Jays on Dec. 10. The trade netted four players for the Guardians, but only one who will definitely be ready for the Major Leagues in 2025. The Guardians acquired second baseman/first baseman Spencer Horwitz plus minor-league outfielder Nick Mitchell from the Blue Jays. The Guardians then traded Horwitz to the Pirates for pitchers Luis Ortiz, Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy. Cleveland #Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti discusses the decision to trade second baseman Andres Gimenez to the Blue Jays. pic.twitter.com/NqblHbXlv8 — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) December 13, 2024 Gimenez is under contract for $10,571,428 in 2025 — roughly a $5 million increase from 2024. He will make an additional $5 million in 2026 and $23,571,428 in 2027, 2028 and 2029 as part of the seven-year contract he signed with the Guardians in 2023. Antonetti said the money that had been allocated to Gimenez can now be spent elsewhere. Josh Naylor, who made $6.5 million in 2024, is projected to make $14.2 million in his arbitration-eligible 2025 season. Ortiz was 7-6 in 15 starts with the Pirates last season. Hartle, a 21-year-old left-handed starter, was a third-round pick by the Pirates in the 2024 draft. He was 6-3 with a 5.79 ERA in 15 starts for Wake Forest in 2024. He was 11-2 with a 2.81 ERA for the Demon Deacons n 2023. Kennedy also is a left-handed starter. He is 20 years old. He was drafted by the Pirates in the fourth round in 2022 and was 2-5 in 2024 at Low-A Bradenton. Mitchell, 21, can play all three outfield positions. He was a 2024 fourth-round draft pick by the Blue Jays. He hit .289 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 22 games last summer for Toronto’s Low-A farm club in Dunedin, Fla. In addition to acquiring the three pitchers from the Pirates, the Guardians also re-signed Shane Bieber to a one-year contract with a player option in 2026. But Bieber is recovering from right elbow surgery and isn’t expected to be ready to pitch until June or July. Triston McKenzie McKenzie and Logan Allen, two Guardians starters that spent most of 2024 at Triple-A Columbus, are X factors. “We feel we’re in a much better position now than we were a few weeks ago,” Antonetti said. “I think we were pretty clear at the outset of the offseason. Our goal was to try to add to our starting pitching staff in particular, and we feel we’ve been able to add two quality alternatives to that. “So now I think we can be a little bit more opportunistic and look at just the variety of different pathways we might have to improve the team, whether that’s in the rotation or somewhere else.” Ortiz is the player expected to pay immediate dividends. He is 25 years old and won’t be arbitration eligible until 2027. He won’t hit free agency until 2030. “Luis Ortiz will join our major-league rotation, and we think there’s a lot of reasons to be excited about what he brings to the organization,” Antonetti said. “We love the developmental path that he was on last year. He went through some challenges initially at the major-league level, but he emerged as a really consistent starting pitcher with really good stuff and we think he’s got a really bright future ahead of him. “He throws a two seamer, a four seamer, a slider, a cutter, and has really power stuff. And we think partnering him with our major-league pitching team can help him continue to grow and develop into a really effective major-league starting pitcher.” The Guardians acquired Gimenez plus shortstop Amed Rosario from the Mets in 2021 for shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco. Gimenez hit .261 in four years in Cleveland. Over the past three seasons, he drove in 69, 62 and 63 runs. Gimenez saved 11 runs with his fielding prowess, according to BaseballReference.com. The only second basemen with more defensive runs saved were Marcus Semien (15) of the Rangers and Brice Turang (13) of the Brewers. The Guardians plan to find their second baseman from players within their own organization. Tyler Freeman, Gabriel Arias, Daniel Schneeman, Angel Martinez and Juan Brito are candidates, Antonetti said. Travis Bazzana, selected by the Guardians with the first pick of the 2024 draft, can play second base or center field. MLB.com projects Bazzana making his major-league debut in 2025, but Bazzana spent last season with the High-A Captains. He is expected to start his 2025 season with the Double-A RubberDucks.