The MLB trade deadline is over a month away, but teams across the league are beginning to make moves in order to fill needs. The Cleveland Guardians find themselves as potential buyers given how well they’ve played so far this season.
Arguably the biggest need for the Guardians right now is depth in the starting rotation. What was once the calling card of past Cleveland teams has quickly become one weakest spots for the Guardians, due to multiple injuries.
Shane Bieber, Cleveland’s clear-cut ace, suffered a season-ending right elbow injury at the beginning of the year. Gavin Williams has yet to make an appearance in the majors this season due to right elbow issues, but is set to make another rehab start Thursday evening. And Triston McKenzie has yet to return to his prime self, posting a 3-3 record with a 4.10 ERA this season.
With the Guardians relying on a core of McKenzie, Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, and Ben Lively, this group is due for another arm to help them claim the AL Central.
In an article posted on May 31, Zack Meisel of The Athletic mentioned many names that the Guardians could hunt for at the trade deadline:
This is a group that would benefit from any sort of talent infusion, whether an innings-eating rental (Yusei Kikuchi of the Toronto Blue Jays? Luis Severino or Sean Manaea of the New York Mets?), an ace with multiple years of control (Jesús Luzardo of the Miami Marlins or Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays?).
– Zack Meisel
Toronto has already identified themselves as sellers after trading Cavan Biggio to the Dodgers yesterday. Miami, with a 23-44 record, could soon follow suit.
The Marlins moving off of Luzardo would make sense, considering their depth at starting pitching. Braxton Garrett, Trevor Rogers and Roddery Muñoz are a few names including in Miami’s rotation, not to mention Ryan Weathers, Sixto Sanchez and Edward Cabrera who are on the 15 day-IL.
Dealing away Luzardo would help bolster the weak Marlins’ farm system that does not feature many promising bats for the future.
If the Guardians were to make this move, they would also have control of Luzardo’s third and fourth year of arbitration, giving them the flexibility to keep the LHP in the future.
Luzardo was acquired by the Marlins back in 2021 in a deal that sent Starling Marte to the Oakland A’s. The crafty starter has struggled at times this season, starting in 11 games and posting a 5.11 ERA with 56 strikeouts. A fresh start for Luzardo could change the course of his season, and pairing another LHP with Logan Allen could position Cleveland in a perfect spot for the rest of the season.
