Chris Antonetti said during the offseason that if the big-league roster wasn't meeting expectations, the front office felt it had the means to make trades to improve it.

The Cleveland Guardians' President of Baseball Operations made good on that promise on Monday and over the last week, adding multiple impact players to the roster.

The first move the Guardians made on Monday was acquiring Jo Adell from the Los Angeles Angels.

Antonetti called Adell, "an athletic right handed hitting outfielder with tremendous power."

So far this season, Adell owns a .232/.287/.395 total slash line with a .909 OPS against lefties. 

Cleveland clearly views Adell as a platoon bat that can potentially still be productive against righties in the right situation.

"His calling card has been [that] he's been exceptionally productive against left-handed pitching and has had a pretty consistent production against right-handers as well," continued the executive.
"A very good complement to our lineup."

In terms of how Adell fits into Cleveland's lineup, Antonetti noted he'll likely see the bulk of his playing time at right field and as the team's designated hitter. 

Perhaps the most shocking move the Guardians made on Monday was trading for All-Star starting pitcher Foster Griffin from the Washington Nationals. 

Cleveland's rotation has been the most durable group in baseball this season, but Antonetti stated after the trade that the team considered every option to improve the roster and felt that trading for Griffin did just that. 

Not only are the Guardians adding another arm to the organization, but Antonetti feels they're "acquiring a starting pitcher that's been one of the best starters in baseball this year. He was an all-star, has been really consistent and really productive from the beginning of the season and feels like you feel like he will really fortify our rotation."

Whenever Cleveland goes out of their way to add a pitcher from another organization, eyebrows are always going to be raised, and questions are going to be asked about what it sees in that arm. 

"He's got a very deep pitch mix with seven pitches that he mixes very well, keeps hitters off balance. So we think he can really help out our rotation," said the Guardians executive.

Arguably, the best bat Cleveland added ahead of the deadline was Nathaniel Lowe from the Cincinnati Reds. He will immediately lead the team with an .821 OPS. 

The Guardians are excited that "Nate's been a consistent professional bat throughout his career. against righties. Um, he's been very productive again this year, and we think, again, he helps lengthen and deepen our lineup."

After Cleveland traded for Lowe, the plan is for him to get the "bulk" of at-bats and playing time at first base with a right-handed pitcher starting, while Rhys Hoskins will get playing time against lefties. Kyle Manzardo will be optioned to Triple-A once the transactions are official.  

Each move the Guardians made on Monday addressed a clear need on the roster. It's exciting about what this team could look like once all the pieces are put together.