Grading The Cleveland Guardians Trade Deadline Moves
The Cleveland Guardians shocked the entire baseball world with their hot start, and they have kept it up so far through the first four months of the season. On Tuesday, they added two more players to help them push for a World Series title.
Cleveland traded for Washington Nationals outfielder Lane Thomas, who is right-handed and will bring some power and speed to the lineup.
The Guardians have been looking for a solid two-hole hitter to go behind Steven Kwan, and in front of José Ramírez, Thomas will bring upside to that spot.
Thomas's power numbers are down this season, and he has only seen eight home runs after seeing 28 fly out of the park last year, but a move to a new team with more protection in the lineup could help him see better pitches that could get his home run numbers back up.
This trade gets a solid A- it was a great move to add an excellent bat to the lineup, and they didn't have to give up any of their big-time prospects, which was a huge plus.
San Fransico Giants pitcher Alex Cobb was traded to Cleveland on Tuesday. After a 2023 All-Star season, he has not pitched at all this season due to a hip injury but is expected to make his season debut sometime next week.
The move to land Cobb was solid, and if they can get anything out of him in the next two months and into October, that would be great. Still, the MLB trade market was low on starting pitchers at this year's deadline. Teams had to overpay big time to land a decent pitcher, so that is probably a reason why Cleveland didn't go that route and went out and got Cobb, who could be the best pitcher traded if he comes back and pitches like he did last year; this trade gets B- since he hasn't pitched this season. Still, he could return to the pitcher we have seen the last few years.
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