Guardians Could Make A Surprising Move With Jo Adell

The Cleveland Guardians loved what outfielder Jo Adell brought to the team after his acquisition on deadline day. They needed someone who could consistently produce against lefties and provide some thunder to the middle of the lineup, and the former Angel, for the most part, delivered.

Adell hit a solid .244/.324/.417 with seven homers, 32 RBI, and a 107 wRC+ in 48 games with a Guardians uniform. He also doubled 10 times. Yes, he wasn’t as effective in the postseason, where he struck out 32.6 percent of the time and put together a disappointing 69 wRC+, but he still managed to drive in eight runs in 11 contests.

Against lefties, Adell was a beast in the regular season, with a .971 OPS between the Angels and the Guardians. In a way, he was everything Cleveland wanted to acquire and more. However, what if we told you that he has a chance to be non-tendered ahead of the new season?

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Adell’s salary is projected to jump from $5.2 million in 2026 to a whopping $9.6 million in his last season of salary arbitration before hitting free agency. Knowing the Guardians and their owner, it’s not that easy to envision them forking over almost $10 million for a player who only makes a true difference against lefties.

Again, Adell is a fine player, and he might as well be tendered a contract before the deadline comes. We would put the odds of that happening at an even 50-50, though, especially when they have another huge jump to take care of in Steven Kwan and his projected $11.3 million salary.

These salaries are fair and actually affordable for your average contender, but we all know how the Guardians operate, so forgive us for being a bit skeptical of them tendering contracts to both players and also taking care of other needs around the roster.

Adell fit right in with the Guardians and their culture from Day 1. He was welcomed and embraced as a new member of the team, and he was a big part of what they did this year. Will his 2026 contributions be enough for the team to extend him a contract, knowing that he hasn’t even racked up a full Win Above Replacement (WAR) in parts of seven seasons in the majors?