The 56-54 Cleveland Guardians are looking for offensive help. They are said to be coveting a right-handed-hitting outfielder, to be more specific.
The 50-59 Toronto Blue Jays made the 2025 World Series and were this close to winning it, yet they have been among the most disappointing teams in baseball this year. They sit 14 games back in the AL East race, as of Thursday afternoon.
In case Toronto decides to sell, they have a player whose profile fits what the Guardians are looking for: it’s none other than George Springer.
“George Springer to the Guardians,” CBS’s Mike Axisa wrote. “The Guardians rarely swing big at the deadline, and while George Springer is a household name, he’s a platoon guy/lower-level bat at this point, not someone who will cost your firstborn in a trade. That’s more up Cleveland’s alley. The supply (Springer is a rental) and demand (the Guardians need a bat) align. Springer can DH and push Chase DeLauter to right field.”
Axisa makes some good points here. Springer wouldn’t represent a long commitment for the Guardians, which is excellent because he will be 37 in September. He is sporting a 104 wRC+ with 12 home runs in somewhat of a down year for the Blue Jays’ offense as a whole, but had a brilliant 166 wRC+, 32 home runs, and 5.2 fWAR last season.
The thing with Springer is that he makes more money than the Guardians are comfortable paying. His 2026 salary is $24.17 million, but the Blue Jays have paid most of that by now. Still, Cleveland probably won’t be comfortable with that number, but if Toronto is willing to eat some of that, they could get a nice prospect or two.
After all, these two organizations have a lot of recent history wheeling and dealing, including the Shane Bieber trade, the Miles Straw one, and the one involving Andres Gimenez. Can they find common ground once again, though?
Springer’s best days are behind him, yes, but that doesn’t mean he can’t help the contending Guardians. And if he can recapture at least 80 percent of the form he had last season, it could be the deal that lifts Cleveland’s offense to new heights.
The outfielder/DH is actually heating up, with seven hits in his last five games, including two homers and seven RBI. He could potentially help Cleveland catch the Chicago White Sox at the top of the AL Central.
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