The Cleveland Guardians shocked the world by making the playoffs last season. Nevertheless, Stephen Vogt’s team is, by no means, flawless.
If anything, last season showed what this team was lacking, and after failing to address those needs at the trade deadline, it’s time to do so in the offseason. This team isn’t likely to spend big bucks, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have multiple options to bolster the offense.
With that in mind, Zack Meisel of The Athletic revealed some of the players the Guardians could make a run at. While it might not be the type of big-name move the fans hoped for, they can certainly do wonders for this team:
“Let’s get realistic. Obviously, the lineup needs help. They can grab in free agency a right-handed outfielder to partner with DeLauter or Valera, perhaps Austin Hays or Rob Refsnyder or Randal Grichuk. Not sexy by any means, but necessary. They could use another proven, everyday option, but that might be more attainable via trade,” Meisel wrote.
The Guardians turned to their youngsters for most of the second half of last season. Also, the fact that they allowed Chase DeLauter to make his MLB debut in the playoffs speaks volumes about the level of confidence they have in him.
That makes perfect sense, as they have the type of young sluggers any team would love to build a roster around. That being said, they’re rookies nonetheless, so they can’t be trusted to do all of the heavy lifting.
The Guardians have the right foundation and some solid pieces to build a contending team for years to come. They just need to add the right pieces to complement them at a fair price, and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see them land at least one of the players Meisel just brought up in this column.
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