Was The Trade Deadline A Wasted Opportunity For The Guardians?
The 2022 MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone with the Guardians making only one trade. This was the swap they did with the Twins with Sandy Leon for Ian Hamilton.
Chris Antonetti mentioned this was an agreement between Leon and the organization that if a team called Cleveland with a Major League opportunity for him, the Guardians wouldn't stand in the way. Thus, he was sent to Minnesota.
One has to ask the question, was this a wasted opportunity for the team?
It's a difficult question to answer, depending on your expectations for this team.
I think in short, yes, it's always disappointing not to see your team go out and make moves that improve the team right now. There were areas they definitely could have upgraded such as at catcher or in the bullpen.
Especially when the team you are only one game back from the division leader, Minnesota Twins, who made substantial moves for starting pitching and a closer.
But I wouldn't go as far as to say that they wasted any opportunities here.
We know thanks to Zack Meisel's article in The Athletic that the Guardians were talking to the Athletics about catcher Sean Murphy. But, we also don't know what the A's were asking for. Would it really be worth it to give up big-name prospects such as George Valera, Gavin Williams, or even Nolan Jones for the team's backup catcher of the future? Probably not.
Another dilemma the front office faced was what to do with Amed Rosario. He was in a number of trade rumors leading up to the deadline but ultimately remained with the team. Yes, the Guardians have prospects with a higher ceiling than he has.
But let's not let that distract us from the fact that Rosario is performing and helping the team win right now. Something fans want to see the team do.
The trade market this year wasn't shortstop-heavy. The biggest name in that position field to get moved was Edmundo Sosa from the Cardinals to the Phillies. There's no reason to move Rosario just to move him. If the team does decide to take this route, the offseason is a much better time to do it.
The one area that was disappointing was that no additions were made to the bullpen. We saw high-end relievers such as Jorge Lopez, David Robertson, and Will Smith get moved but not to the Guardians. They did get Hamilton, but he has spent most of the season in the minors. This team needs big league-ready talent.
The Guardians bullpen has had its moments for better and for worse. They have an All-Star closer in Emmanuel Clase and an incredibly solid setup man in Eli Morgan but after that, there is a lot of inconsistency.
Having a good bullpen can only boost the confidence of a team. Especially a young one.
I agree with Tito that team chemistry cannot be overlooked. Look at what's happening in the clubhouses in Baltimore and Milwaukee after they traded away some of their big pieces. Both were in playoff races but not a ton of optimism among the players. Only time will tell if that will affect their play on the field.
The time to make major upgrades for this team will come. The team isn't afraid of making tough decisions (ex. optioning Franmil Reyes). But there was no need to settle for a move that didn't make sense.
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