The Cleveland Guardians need to make some moves to improve.
They have won the AL Central in consecutive years, but that’s not enough.
With the Detroit Tigers possibly losing ace Tarik Skubal as soon as this offseason, there’s an opening for the Guardians to make a big move and take over the division.
With that in mind, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden believes they could be interested in trading for Boston Red Sox All-Star Jarren Duran.
“I’m not sure I understand why the Red Sox keep listening to offers for Duran, outside of the fact they envision their future outfield as Wilyer Abreu in right field, Ceddanne Rafaela in center field and Roman Anthony in left. Why not keep Duran for DH? Or, better yet, why not let all four outfielders rotate between the outfield and DH? Regardless, Duran’s name keeps coming up in trade rumors and it now sounds like the Red Sox will move on from him this winter. Teams such as the [Philadelphia] Phillies, [Los Angeles] Dodgers, Tigers, Guardians and [Texas] Rangers would love to land him. He’s also controllable through the 2028 season, so it would take a huge haul for the Red Sox to move him,” Bowden wrote.
The Guardians needed a proven bat in the outfield all year long.
They hoped that Jhonkensy Noel would keep his postseason heroics of 2024 going, but he was a liability most of the time he was in the field.
Then, they found some success with rookies C.J. Kayfus and George Valera.
But other than that, they didn’t get much production from any outfielder other than Steven Kwan.
There have been some rumblings about Kwan’s future with the organization, as he hasn’t signed a contract extension, though he is under team control through the 2027 season.
Even if they are able to keep him, it’s become evident that they need to add firepower to their lineup.
Duran was the MVP of the 2024 All-Star Game and has led the American League in triples twice.
Left-handed sluggers are hard to find, and given the Guardians’ reluctance to spend big bucks on free agents, this type of move might be more suitable.
Whether they’ll pull it off remains to be seen.
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