According to Chris Cotillo, who follows the Red Sox for MassLive, the Guardians are close to a deal with free agency pitcher John Means:
Means underwent his second Tommy John surgery in June 2024, therefore this is similar to the Matthew Boyd experiment, where Boyd had Tommy John surgery in June 2023 and returned to pitch for Cleveland in August 2024. Means is expected to sign a two-year contract with Cleveland, or possibly a one-year deal with a player option.
Despite struggling to remain healthy throughout his career, the 32-year-old lefthander has a 3.68 ERA in 400 innings. His FIP is 4.56, which raises the question of what he’s doing to defy measurements that attempt to eliminate luck/fielding discrepancies. He has only 7.55 strikeouts per 9 innings during his career, but he minimizes walks to 1.77 per 9. He is also a master at minimizing hard contact. Since 2019, Means has ranked 24th among active pitchers in terms of hard-hit rate allowed. Stuff+ analytics show that his slider, changeup, and scintillating knuckle-curve are all well above average, which helps counter his 91 mph fastball.
Means discussed his aspirations for a return in this article from last season, which includes the remark “Baseball is horrifying and beautiful at the same time,” which is a truly great line. We appear to be signing Major League Baseball’s poet laureate. I approve. Because Means cannot survive on velocity, he appears to be as good a bet as anyone to take the Matthew Boyd route to efficacy. It’s also reassuring to think that Shane Bieber, Vince Velazquez, and now Means may take Boyd’s success here as proof that the Guardians are adept at assisting those who have seen Tommy John return to dominance.
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Means, when he probably signs, would be a wonderful gamble in acquiring a competent starting pitcher, preferably around the trade deadline, at a fair price. I admire what the Guardians are doing with him, Bieber, and (on an NRI basis) Velazquez.
