Guardians Insider Thinks Team Made a Major Offseason Mistake

A Cleveland Guardians insider revealed a major mistake the team made have made this offseason.

Oct 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) runs after hitting a two RBI double in the seventh inning against the New York Yankees during game four of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. / David Dermer-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians have had a fairly busy offseason. It was an offseason full of ups and downs.

Obviously, being able to bring back Shane Bieber was a major win for the Guardians. They acquired some other pieces that will fill weaknesses as well, especially on the pitching side of things.

However, Cleveland also made the move to trade away a talented bat in Josh Naylor.

Naylor was a huge part of the team's offense last season. He will be missed at the plate this year, but the Guardians are hopeful that other players, such as free agent signing Carlos Santana, will be able to help replace him.

That being said, one Cleveland insider has spoken out about how trading Naylor might have been a mistake.

During an appearance on Four Territory, Mandy Bell of MLB.com spoke out about the Naylor trade.

“It seems like it made much more sense to hang on to him (Naylor) until maybe the trade deadline and figure things out, allowing this offense to show some stability. I’m not saying that they won’t, but to think Carlos Santana, who is starting to inch closer and closer to 40 years old, being their cleanup guy… It seems like they are missing a couple of pieces in their offense right now,” Bell explained.

Can Carlos Santana effectively replace Josh Naylor for the @CleGuardians in 2025? @MandyBell02 weighs in pic.twitter.com/qlLtWgo49W

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 23, 2025

Down the stretch last season and in the playoffs, the Guardians had very cold stretches at the plate. Not being able to produce enough runs was a big problem for them.

Trading away a player who hit 31 home runs to go along with 108 RBI, while slashing .243/.320/.456 does seem like a counterproductive move.

Hopefully, there are other players on the roster who can pick up the slack. If they can't, Cleveland could be in big trouble offensively. Only time will tell, but this is something to monitor closely.

Perhaps the Guardians could still add a bat in free agency or via a trade. The offseason is not over yet.

Should they choose to go into the season as currently constructed, there will be major concerns about the offense. Moving Naylor could end up coming back to bite Cleveland.