Guardians Should Heed Ominous MLB Trade Deadline Warning

The Cleveland Guardians have received a pretty ominous warning ahead of the MLB trade deadline, and they should accept the advice.

Jul 3, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt speaks before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians surely did not expect to find themselves in this position in July, as they are 40-46 heading into their Saturday night matchup with the Detroit Tigers and are falling further and further out of the playoff picture.

It's certainly in stark contrast to last year, where the Guardians boasted the best record in baseball for a time and ultimately won the AL Central and made it all the way to the ALCS.

They haven't had such luck in 2025, and it has placed Cleveland in a very precarious position heading into the MLB trade deadline.

Will the Guardians buy? Will they sell? Will they do a little bit of both?

Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti doesn't seem too sure, as he said the market will probably take some time to develop due to many teams still being in contention.

However, Brandon Glick of Away Back Gone wonders if exercising too much patience will be a dangerous strategy for the Guardians.

"If they fancy themselves as buyers, it'd behoove them to jump ahead of the market — especially for one of the few impact bats available — to avoid getting into an expensive bidding war for players with minimal team control," Glick wrote. "If they instead opt to be sellers, they could flood the trade market with impressive, market-altering assets like Carlos Santana, Lane Thomas, Shane Bieber, and yes, even Emmanuel Clase. They could be the ones inciting a bidding war, especially if they enter the market early enough to get a plethora of teams interested."

Glick has a point. It could be important for Cleveland to pick a lane now so it can establish the market and actually swing some positive trades. If the Guardians wait too long, they may get caught in the muck and either be forced to overpay or accept less-than-stellar returns.

The trade deadline isn't until July 31, but it will come around much sooner than you think.

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