The Cleveland Guardians need to choose a strategy ahead of the trade deadline; one option stands out as the most sensible.
The Cleveland Guardians own a 55-54 record and remain in the thick of the American League playoff race that just about every team finds themselves in.
The team also has one of the worst offenses in baseball, which has only continued to hold the team back.
All of this leaves the Guardians in an awkward spot with the trade deadline just days away. There's a serious case to be made for the front offices buying (a lot of) pieces to go all-in in 2026, and sell some of the players with any value.
If the Guardians buy, everyone knows what they need: offense. A right-handed bat would be nice, but Cleveland isn't the only team seeking a player of that caliber, and there simply aren't a lot of them on the market.
Is the front office willing to get into a bidding war for a rental bat like Taylor Ward or Lane Thomas with the possibility of still not making it back to the postseason?
If Cleveland is able to acquire a hitter with years of team control, sure, go for it, but again, the Guardians aren't the only team that will be scouring the market for hitters; the price for position players is bound to only go up.
Selling at the deadline might be complicated, too, primarily because the Guardians don't have many pieces to trade off. There are a couple of intriguing candidates, including Steven Kwan, but nothing that would get the Guardians a haul of prospects like years past.
That leaves Cleveland with one final strategy, and the one that might just be the smartest approach with the deadline looming. The Guardians should seriously consider holding still and not making any major moves before August 3.
May 4, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians head coach Stephen Vogt in the dugout prior to a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn ImagesNow, standing pat doesn't mean that Cleveland should still run out the same lineup in the middle of August that has been shut out in three of the last four games.
The Guardians' best option for offensive upgrades might already be in the organization, just not at the big-league level yet.
Ralphy Velazquez continues to have success at each level he's been at, and the organization continues to be high on him for good reason.
Considering the offensive struggles of the Guardians' first baseman this season, why not give Ralphy a chance, even if there are growing pains along the way?
Instead of possibly exploring a trade for Angel Genao, who has a .872 OPS at Triple-A, give him a taste of big-league baseball and see if the switch-hitter's .305/.353/.579 slash line against left-handers holds and can be the boost the lineup is looking for.
There's also a case to be made that Khalil Watson, Cooper Ingle and even Juan Brito deserve another opportunity.
In a perfect world, the Guardians do a little bit of everything: trade for a proven hitter and promote from within.
However, if there's one direction that is best for the rest of this season and beyond, it's likely to be standing pat and letting the young, offensive-minded prospects play, and see where that takes them into October.
