The Cleveland Guardians could use some firepower this season.
They’ve never been the most aggressive team in the trade market, and they’re usually the kind of team that’s constantly in the hunt for prospects and diamonds in the rough.
That’s usually the case with small-market teams, as they know they will always have a better shot at developing a star than at getting one in free agency, and the Guardians have always taken pride in their farm system.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean they couldn’t take a different approach this time around.
With that in mind, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report predicted that they could look to part ways with 1B prospect Ralphy Velazquez.
In his latest column, he made a case for them to move on from Velazquez since he’s still a ways away from being ready to contribute at the next level:
“If extra aggressiveness is in fact the case, 2023 first-round pick Ralphy Velazquez reasonably could be on the trade block,” Miller wrote. “He played in last summer’s Futures Game, but he’s likely still a few years away from making the big leagues, currently batting .175 through 50 games at High-A Lake County. For a few select teams currently in rebuilding mode, the not-yet-20-year-old first baseman could be exactly what they want.”
This might not sound typical of what the Guardians do.
Then again, they did give up multiple prospects to land Lane Thomas last year.
As Miller also pointed out, they will get Shane Bieber and David Fry back at some point later in the season, and that should give them a strong push to close out the year on a high note.
This team reached the ALCS last season, so it’s not like they’re that far behind from being a legitimate World Series contender, and they might just need to make a couple of tweaks and moves to get to the next level.
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