The Cleveland Guardians are sitting atop the American League with a 57-33 record, but there is always room for improvement, namely in the form of a starting pitcher that could help bolster this rotation given the struggles of Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen, and Carlos Carrasco, all of who have an ERA well north of 5.00.
Gavin Williams has recently returned from injury, but the team could still use some help, although one analyst believes it might be tough for the team to look outside the organization and bring in a pitcher at the trade deadline.
Former Guardians pitcher and current analyst Jensen Lewis recently said on the BIGPLAY Cleveland Show that it’ll be tough for the Guardians to get a pitcher at the deadline because “You’re looking at upwards of 12-15 teams in the market to acquire starting pitching. It’s going to be difficult to acquire those kind of assets before July 30th.”
It's going to be hard for the Guardians to find a pitcher. #ForTheLand
"You're looking at upwards of 12-15 teams in the market to acquire starting pitching. It's going to be difficult to acquire those kind of assets before July 30."
presented by @drinkgaragebeer🍻 pic.twitter.com/akJJJKkPtQ
— BIGPLAY Cleveland Show (@BIGPLAYCLEshow) July 10, 2024
Starting pitching is at a premium and will be costly, so Lewis makes a great point here, although there should be plenty of available pitchers on the market given how many bad teams there are in the league right now.
Another hiccup could be that the Chicago White Sox are going to be one of the biggest sellers and have multiple good starting pitchers available including Erick Fedde and Garrett Crochet, and it’s unlikely the Sox will want to make a big trade with a division rival.
Regardless, the deck is stacked against any team looking for a starter this year, but there will be a lot of valuable arms out there if the Guardians want to get aggressive.
NEXT: Guardians Are Making Franchise History Before The All-Star Break
