The Cleveland Guardians could catch a massive break soon.
The Detroit Tigers are reportedly on the verge of losing their best player, and that opens up a big opportunity for the Guardians in the AL Central.
Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is one of the top offseason trade candidates.
The Cy Young Award winner and the team reportedly are far apart in contract extension talks, and it doesn’t seem like they will be able to find middle ground.
With that in mind, insider Paul Hoynes believes the Guardians could make the most of this situation by keeping Steven Kwan.
“Skubal leaving the division could potentially open a competitive window for Cleveland, possibly influencing their approach to extending their own stars. Hoynes speculated that Detroit moving Skubal ‘perhaps that even makes them more interested in keeping Kwan and signing him to a multiyear deal within their grasp,'” per the “Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast.”
The Tigers getting worse should help the Guardians in the division, not to mention that they may not have to face the pitcher who dominated them in the AL Wild Card round in future postseasons.
As for Kwan, there have been few updates regarding his contract talks with the Guardians.
That lack of progress makes people think that Cleveland will look to trade the outfielder this offseason, as he was mentioned in multiple rumors near this past deadline.
Clearly, moving on from an All-Star wouldn’t do much to help their case to compete for a division title, either.
But with their main opponent perhaps taking a huge step back, the Guardians have to do whatever it takes to establish the upper hand.
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