Buyers And Sellers? This Could Be The Cleveland Guardians Trade Deadline Game Plan

The Cleveland Guardians’ roster has clear holes that need to be addressed for them to maintain their lead in the American League Central. 

However, they’re in a unique position compared to other teams around baseball. The Guardians could look to be both buyers and sellers at this year’s trade deadline, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

“The most interesting thing is how many teams appear willing to both buy and sell,” an NL executive told Feinsand. “That’s not usually the case. Some teams may have to move money to add money, in addition to the fact that there are so many teams hovering around playoff contention.”

Let’s say this is the approach the Guardians take over the next week. In which areas would they be “buyers” and where could they also be “sellers?”

Identifying where Cleveland could look to upgrade is the easy part. 

The Guardians need another arm or two in their starting rotation who can get them deep into games. This doesn’t have to be a top trade candidate such as Garrett Crochet or Tarik Skubal. They could easily walk away from the deadline with a veteran pitcher such as Erik Fedde, Zach Eflin, or Nathan Eovaldi and call that a success.

Cleveland also needs another bat in their lineup. Preferably, this comes as an outfielder. But the Guardians have several versatile players on their roster, so they should look to get the best bat available and figure out where everyone will play later.

In terms of the selling side of things, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Guardians part with one of their bullpen arms to acquire a player who could help them this season and beyond. 

Cleveland currently has, by far, the best bullpen in MLB, and relief pitching is another area that contenders are looking to upgrade. The Guardians could take advantage of this market to help them acquire a player at a position that desperately need. 

It also helps that if Cleveland were to move on from a major league bullpen arm, they would have prospects such as Andrew Walters, who could easily take their place.

This may not be the mindset fans want the Guardians to have, but it could be the smart plan with how this year’s trade deadline is shaping up.