With the trade deadline looming, many big-name stars are rumored to be potential catalysts for teams looking to buy. With The Guardians sitting at exactly .500 (pre-July 23rd matchup), are we buyers or sellers? I’m afraid the answer is neither.
It has long been a fault of Guards ownership: An inability to make major moves and financially invest in the team. Well, with a team that made the ALCS last year, and then proceeded to dump both Josh Naylor and Andres Gimenez, hopes were considerably high. Not many moves have been made, plenty of young talent is waiting in the wings, and the division lacks major roster changes as a whole. But now, after a soul-crushing 10-game losing streak, and really extending far beyond that, we have looked like a much more impotent team. Our knack of leaving runners on base (and in scoring position) and then proceeding to lose 1-0 made me turn many games off. However, in winning 10 of our last 12, we have begun to look like a team again. A team that knows how to hit the baseball. So where does this leave us? That’s the confusing question. If we had pissed away the last games before and after the All-Star break, it would be a very clear sell situation. Try to acquire as much talent as we can and build for next year. That didn’t happen though, and now we’re in no man’s land. While the Guardians have stated that Kwan and Clase will not be traded, it seems we are listening to offers nonetheless. One proposed trade has made me sick, and I’m sure Guards management as well.
While The Dodgers sit atop their division, it has been (for them) a struggle of a season. Injury after injury after injury, as well as inconsistent relief work, has left them baffled. Now, while I cannot see a world in which any team would be willing to arm the reigning World Series champs with more star power, Travis Rogers of ESPN LA has claimed whisperings and rumors of a trade surrounding Kwan, Clase, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Before I destroy this trade, and very easily prove why it is truly a senseless proposition, I will at least break it down.
The “rumored” trade is this: Kwan and Clase to LA, solving both the problems of Conforto in left field and the Dodgers’ lack of a consistent closer, with the Guards apparently receiving Justin Wrobleski, Ben Casparius, Joseu De Paula, and one other prospect in return. I know you just threw up in your mouth. I did too. First off, yes, this trade makes sense for the boys in blue; however, the Guards don’t need more young, talented prospects. We are overflowing with young, talented prospects. What we need is consistent starting pitching and some more powerful bats, and really none of those guys fulfill that role. In order to give up Kwan or Clase, let alone both, you need significant star power in return and I see none of it here.
The Dodgers have been plagued by starting pitching injuries, which means they have a plethora of them. While I’m sure the Guardians would love to get their hands on one or more of their terrific pitchers, we need healthy guys who can stay healthy. And I just don’t see in any world why we’d give up either Kwan or Clase for anyone less valuable than, say, Tarik Skubal. At the end of the day, you never know what’s going to happen, but I can tell you right now that that proposed trade will not.
The post Kwan and Clase to The Dodgers? I Think Not appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk .