Analyst Proposes Blockbuster Guardians, Brewers Trade

The Cleveland Guardians could use another reliable pitcher for their starting rotation. With Shane Bieber no longer on the team after being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays last season, they don’t have a true ace on the roster.

Their rotation proved to be solid at the end of the season. Yet there’s some doubt it can keep that up for a full schedule.

With that in mind, analyst Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report proposed a blockbuster trade between the Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers.

Brewers Receive: SS Angel Genao (Reuter’s No. 41), 1B/OF Ralphy Velazquez (CLE No. 9) and C Jacob Cozart (CLE No. 17)
Guardians Receive: SP Freddy Peralta

“Even assuming Cleveland would refuse to entertain trading away the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, Travis Bazzana, there’s little question the Guardians have the prospect capital necessary to put together an offer Milwaukee would have to consider. There’s also little question this rotation could use a Peralta-sized infusion of talent. Per FanGraphs, Cleveland’s rotation has ranked 26th in WAR over the past two seasons, behind even the Chicago White Sox. And though it’s played 13 postseason games over the past two years, its starting pitchers in those games had an 0-4 record to show for it. The real question is whether they — for lack of a better word — care enough to pursue Peralta?” Miller wrote.

Truth be told, it’s hard to believe the Guardians would entertain this thought. They rarely agree to give up one of their best prospects, let alone two.

Peralta is a very good pitcher, but he’s not the type of bona fide ace that would require Cleveland to part with the likes of Genao and Velazquez. If the Guardians were willing to trade one of the two, that likely wouldn’t be enough for the Brewers to agree to the deal.

Manager Stephen Vogt has proven that he’s not afraid to use young players. He even had outfield prospect Chase DeLauter make his MLB debut in the playoffs.

The Guardians have always taken pride in their farm system, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. So, even if they will most likely look to bolster their rotation, that’s not going to happen at the expense of two of their best prospects.