The Cleveland Guardians have found their fair share of success with some of the moves they’ve made. They take pride in acquiring and developing young talent and then moving on from them when they get too pricey, with a few exceptions, like Jose Ramirez, of course.
However, some of those moves have come back to haunt them at times. That’s why Bleacher Report’s Daryl Reuter had no choice but to include their blockbuster trade with the New York Mets as one of the most lopsided in the past decade:
Date: Jan. 7, 2021
To CLE: IF Andrés Giménez, IF Amed Rosario, OF Isaiah Greene, RHP Josh Wolf
To NYM: SS Francisco Lindor, RHP Carlos Carrasco
“With both now playing elsewhere, the Guardians ended up getting a combined 23.1 WAR out of the two middle infielders, while Lindor has provided four straight 5-WAR seasons for the Mets and 27.3 WAR overall while continuing on a Hall of Fame trajectory. He is the type of player who should have spent his entire career in Cleveland, were it not for a tight-fisted front office,” Reuter wrote.
In hindsight, it’s easy to judge this move and acknowledge that the Guardians made a big mistake. Nevertheless, this trade looked bad even at the time; it just looks much worse now.
Of course, some people will talk about how Francisco Lindor has had some issues in the Mets’ clubhouse and whatnot, but he’s still one of the best players in the world, especially in his position. As for Carlos Carrasco, he’s not much of a star anymore, but he clearly still had plenty left in the tank when the Guardians gave up on him.
Still, that’s just the nature of the game. You’re going to win some, and you’re going to lose some. That’s just inevitable.
At least, the Guardians have been able to bounce back from this. They’ve been a playoff-caliber team more often than not, and that should continue to be the case for many more years to come.
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