Cleveland Guardians deadline acquisition Jo Adell has hit the ground running with his new team after coming over from the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 3. He has contributed a lot with the bat, especially against left-handed pitchers, a widely known weakness of the team.
Adell is slashing a solid .226/.311/.472 with three home runs, 12 RBIs, and a 118 wRC+ in 15 games with the Guardians. They needed an impact bat, and they got one in the outfielder.
Adell is under team control through next season, which would be his last season of salary arbitration before hitting free agency in 2028. Some fans are already thinking about a potential contract extension for the newcomer.
Insider Paul Hoynes, who received that question in the latest edition of his mailbag, weighed in on the debate.
“The Guardians control Adell through 2027, but there are lots of moving parts behind the scenes. They include a potential lockout following the expiration of the current basic agreement in December and an ownership change, perhaps, near the end of the 2027 season. Not sure how that will affect the front office’s ability to sign players. From the outside looking in, I’d like to see how Adell finishes this season. Hopefully, the bruised left knee doesn’t hurt his performance down the stretch,” Hoynes said.
There’s a lot to analyze here. Adell has certainly played well during his brief Guardians tenure, but it might be premature to talk about an extension for a guy who has played less than a month with the team. Still, it doesn’t hurt to test the waters.
The reality, however, is that the potential lockout is affecting how MLB teams operate these days. There has been talk about the Guardians potentially calling up Ralphy Velazquez, one of their best power-hitting prospects, but if they do, they won’t be able to use him at Triple-A to play in the 2027 minor league season in the event of a work stoppage.
Teams, understandably, are shying away from potential extensions because of the uncertainty surrounding player contracts and a potential salary cap. If we additionally consider that Cleveland might be switching owners relatively soon, it’s unlikely we’ll see such a deal for Adell.
It’s not impossible, though. The outfielder is powerful, dynamic, and has a penchant for big defensive plays even if the metrics say he is more of an average fielder.
He has been a nice addition to the Guardians’ lineup, but everybody is likely to take a wait-and-see approach regarding an extension.
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