Should the Guardians get into the deferred money market?

Even the most hardcore of homers would tell you that there are holes in the Cleveland Guardians lineup. ((Hello, my name is Choir and today I'll be preaching to myself.)) Yes, a full season of wunderkind catcher Bo Naylor will help matters immensely, and Andres Gimenez is projected to post up a better fWAR than even the Goat, and Steven Kwan's 2022 season likely represents a 3-win floor. Josh Naylor's ankle is tied together with rosin and duct tape but there is help on the way at first base in the manner of Deyvison De Los Santos and Kyle Manzardo. The battle at shortstop between Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias, and Tyler Freeman will be heated and should allow for the best player to be the starter, and if Rocchio's recent hot streak in the LVBP shows us anything, he's got some pop. And the depth trade of Cody Morris for Estevan Florial helped a little bit on the offensive side of the ball in that we no longer are legally required to call Myles Straw a starter in center field.Alas...there's a lot of coulds, woulds, and shoulds in that paragraph. What I presented to you is the rose-colored glasses version of the 2024 season. Florial was available because he has never put it all together, De Los Santos has never played above Double-A, and the tandem of Ramon Laureano and Will Brennan in right field is tenuous at best. The Guardians can go into 2024 knowing they addressed at least some of their deficiencies but to be a contending team in the upcoming season, we can feel confident in saying that more moves *should* be made. The general thinking was that the improvements would come from the trade market, but that could hinder the team's ceiling if they were to deal away someone like Shane Bieber or Emmanuel Clase. Wading deep into the free agency waters is not something Cleveland tends to do and the market of available hitters dwindled even further late Sunday when the billion-dollar-spenders Los Angeles Dodgers signed right fielder Teoscar Hernandez to a one-year, $23.5 million contract that offered Hernandez $8.5 million of that sum in deferred payments of $1 million starting in 2030 when he likely out of baseball.The signing of Hernandez was lamented online, as he was one of the few clear upgrades in free agency. The method with which the Dodgers signed him has also been called upon by some to be the path for Cleveland to exercise: deferred money. The thinking is Cleveland is light on cash in the moment with their funds tied up in the Diamond Group bankruptcy hearings, and while there may be some light at the end of the tunnel in that regard, if Cleveland can spread out money owed for years to come, that's a method they should explore. However, we've reached the point of free agency where the players that are worth that option are either not helpful for Cleveland ((Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery types.)) or flawed enough to not be worth the expense in later years. ((Cody Bellinger or JD Martinez, looking at you.))Hernandez is a perfect case study for this. He's a 31-year-old hitter who just saw his wRC+ drop so much so fast in one year you'd think he caught the statey eyeing him up just beyond the school zone and struck out 211 times in 2023. Point blank period: Hernandez is not good enough to have big feelings about Cleveland is in the market for a bridge outfielder, someone to handle the job until Chase DeLauter or George Valera or Johnathan Rodriguez or Jhonkensy Noel force the issue that they should be the option in right field, and those type of outfielders are not worth upwards of $15 million, let alone $20m+. Could he have one more year in him as a 2-win player? Sure, and Los Angeles has the money to make that bet.The other factor concerning deferred money is Cleveland has backloaded contracts on the docket and lacks the baseline income teams like the Dodgers or New York Yankees do to make those types of deals. Los Angeles can look at $1 million in 2034 like the .0002 pennies Initech looks at in the movie Office Space. And Cleveland hasn't been afraid to take on cash to get a player they like or acquire an "expiring" contract to make something work. Chris Johnson, Pablo Sandoval, and Jean Segura have all been on the Guardian's P&L sheet without appearing in uniform so that they could move other longer-term deals or lock in players like Khalil Watson. $1m a year for 10 years doesn't sound like much to a pro sports outfit but when you're giving every indication that you're holding off bringing in players because your financials are up in the air, every cent matters.As I've stated, Cleveland can and will likely head into GuardsFest and spring training with the team they have currently. Even dealing away the loser of the shortstop battle isn't enough to change the math on the outfield picture. Trading away Shane Bieber does more harm than good at this point as well. Yes, it is frustrating seeing the Dodgers and Yankees check off their shopping lists, but Cleveland simply can't work in that market. That does not mean they are not a good team or one that can make noise. It just means we are in different tax brakets.