There are no do-overs in Major League Baseball.
Like in every sport and league, teams make moves based on what they think and hope will be best for them.
However, as much as they can make projections and whatnot, the harsh truth is that no one knows for sure how a move will turn out.
Unfortunately, the Cleveland Guardians aren’t the exception to that rule.
As much as they would like to have a crystal ball, not every transaction they’ve made has favored them.
With that in mind, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report pointed out the one offseason mulligan they wish they had, and he thinks they might regret moving on from Josh Naylor and Myles Straw:
“Effectively trading Josh Naylor and Myles Straw for Carlos Santana and Paul Sewald,” Miller wrote. “For their trouble, Santana has given the Guardians an OPS 180 points below what Naylor is doing in Arizona, Sewald had a 6.14 ERA before landing on the IL and Straw has been worth 0.9 bWAR in Toronto while the Guardians outfield (save for Steven Kwan) has been a trainwreck. At least Cecconi pitched well in his season debut on Saturday?”
Granted, the Guardians could still get something very productive out of Paul Sewald, and Carlos Santana has always been a productive player, not to mention a fan favorite.
Even so, their outfield play has ranked among the worst in the league in both offense and defense, and it’s clear that something has to change there.
Perhaps getting Lane Thomas back on the field will ease some of those concerns, although he was also having a tough time at the plate before his injury.
There’s also hope that they can get star prospect Chase DeLauter out there at some point in the season, but he’s struggled with injuries as well.
All in all, the Guardians have been a decent team this season, but there are some things to fix.
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