The Cleveland Guardians have lost five straight games dating back to last week. They are currently 54-53 and have fallen two games behind the Chicago White Sox in the quest for the AL Central.
If they don’t want things to get out of hand, they need to show a sense of urgency before August 3 and bring in multiple roster upgrades. The 2026 deadline is of vital importance for Cleveland, and it could effectively make or break their season.
The Guardians haven’t shown that sense of urgency in almost a decade. When out of contention, they trade some veterans and players who are coming close to free agency, and when they are contending, they make modest additions to improve in the margins: a mid-tier reliever, a depth starter, or a platoon outfielder, for example.
Former Guardians pitcher and current analyst Jensen Lewis reminded us about the last time Cleveland went big in a trade deadline. It was a while ago.
“You’ve got to take some risks. I don’t think this front office has done that, at least, in the last five deadlines to warrant a message to that clubhouse of like, ‘Boys, we’re going for it.’ You’ve got to back to Andrew Miller in 2016, the last time there was a serious, consequential, like, this is a playoff-changing dynamic that brings us a guy that can really take us deep into October,” Lewis said.
Will the Guards push all the chips in? #GuardsBall@JLEWFifty says the Guards haven't made a massive deadline move in a decade. pic.twitter.com/iK210DmjJ1
— BIGPLAY Cleveland (@BIGPLAYcle) July 27, 2026
In 2016, the Guardians traded four prospects to the New York Yankees to get top left-handed reliever Andrew Miller. Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield, both top-five organizational prospects, were among those sent to the Big Apple.
Miller went on to form a formidable late-inning pairing with Cody Allen, and the Guardians made it all the way to the World Series. They were up 3-1 in the series heading into Game 5, and they were tied late in Game 7.
As you can see, the Guardians came really close to winning it all the last time they went big at the deadline. They have a strong foundation this year, so fans hope that they recognize this opportunity and show enough aggressiveness to pounce and make some deals happen.
President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti sure likes his prospects, and it’s hard to blame him. He has taken the Guardians to seven of the last 10 postseason. If he wants a real chance to win the Fall Classic, however, he needs to go out there and acquire a top right-handed bat, a couple of high-leverage relievers, and a depth starter.
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