Which Spots Guardians Need to Upgrade or Hold and Which Prospects to Trade

The Guardians are officially at the halfway point of the season. On today's Locked On Guardians, we look back at how much this team has improved in 2024 compared to the halfway point of 2023, give some halfway point grades out across different parts of the roster.
We also discuss which spots on the roster need to be upgraded at the trade deadline and which spots Cleveland should or will hold for the future, or the rest of 2024.
And to make those trades, we break down the tiers of prospects in the system. Which Guardians prospects can bring back the biggest return in a trade? Who are their secondary pieces in those trades and who has the most value overall? We break all of that down on this episode.
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[@jordanmyers9208]

I think they should trade Manzardo. They seem to like the rotating DH, and we have Kayfus and Ralphy coming up for when Josh Naylor leaves. I love Manzardo, but there might not be room

[@joshuaferrell384]

Man, I told Jeff that like 2 weeks ago as he disagreed. To me, it makes sense since we have depth at 1st base.

[@LockedonGuardians]

He isnt going to net a ton right now, and Ralphy is alreayd moving off first

[@jordanmyers9208]

@@LockedonGuardians Valid. Hope Ralphy can work out there

[@DavidLane-so1fk]

Thanks Justin, top class as always 💪

[@LockedonGuardians]

thank you for watching

[@nycholasgreig2856]

That was really informative! It is great to get a good picture of available trade chips.

[@LockedonGuardians]

Glad it was helpful!

[@wazowski1007]

Alright. I’ve been listening since this off season, big props, yall are auto plays daily when I get in the car. Great work fellas. One player I can’t recall hearing discussed is Trevor Bauer. My assumption is locker room fit, and the incentives he’s looking for associated with the deal are the major reasons he’s not and won’t be an option?

[@LockedonGuardians]

He burned his bridges here its a no go even without the off the field

[@jffagan]

Great show Justin, love the trade chip talk. Definitely need to find help.

[@user-wi9kw9xp9l]

Offense B-, Starting Pitching D plus, Relief Pitching A...

[@LockedonGuardians]

I could see it

[@thefruch7588]

Great job as always Justin! I agree with pretty much everything you’ve said

[@LockedonGuardians]

he is always great

[@HemmingerMMA]

Go go Guardians Go!

[@mikefingerbottom2669]

Keeping De Los Santos would have been a huge mistake. He wasn't ready and there are too few roster spots to pull those shenanigans if you are trying to win. It would have meant someone like Fry wouldn't have been on the roster. I was ecstatic when I saw the final roster decisions out of spring training, that's what kick-started all of this success, and it showed that Vogt was making smart decisions right out of the gate.

[@LockedonGuardians]

agree completely

[@mutantmangoman]

I like your tiers on the trade chips. Personally, I would look to trade from triple A or maybe even someone like Rocchio from the majors. The problem in the trade market right now is every team either wants to compete right now or will want to compete next year, so I imagine major league ready pieces like Tena, Rodriguez, Manzardo etc will be desired returns for clubs that are selling. Meanwhile, Cleveland needs to sort out that same side of the roster. There’s already a log jam of position players on the roster and it’ll be even worse next year, so that makes sense for Cleveland to pull from too.

[@LockedonGuardians]

thank you for watching, I agree the problem is lack of sellers

[@mikefingerbottom2669]

Mostly agree with you Justin, outfield and starting pitching are where we need the upgrade. Freeman has had enough opportunity, he is a competent defender but the bat is still a work in progress, certainly hasn't locked down a starting job. I doubt they will trade anything valuable for bullpen help, though, because we have plenty of options there already and if you improve the starters you are probably bumping down Carrasco or Allen into a bullpen role. Taylor Ward is the answer for this team, one more power bat and this lineup can take off.

[@LockedonGuardians]

I would love to add taylor Ward

[@owen______]

My dream pitching acquisition is probably Severino, Flaherty, or Fedde. For a bat, i want Jesse Winker, JD Martinez, or Taylor Ward.

[@LockedonGuardians]

I would have Flaherty, Fedde, Severino

[@michaelcurtis106]

I still think Max Scherzer is a possibility for a trade. Yes, he's expensive but the prospect cost wouldn't be as high as it would be for other players.

[@LockedonGuardians]

The cost for all starting pitching is going to be high. Last year Aaron Civale cost Kyle Manzardo.

[@dennisquigney3809]

This is the first time in a long time I am ok with them trading away just about anyone. I'm really attached to no one. They all have some sort of flaw. Espino is the one I wouldn't trade while his value is at it's lowest.

[@LockedonGuardians]

Espino doesn't have any value right now. He'd be a lottery ticket so yes his value is basically non existent

[@scotthauser5341]

I still think it is starting pitching. I know it is hard to obtain, and I know Baltimore is richer in prospects, but I still think it is pitching. A bat for DH or OF would be great as well!

[@LockedonGuardians]

I agree need pitching, with OF being second

[@LumpyPumpkin99]

If they save a million dollars or so by drafting Wetherholt, do you think they'd have enough money to buy Griffin or Rainer down the board with their next pick?

[@LockedonGuardians]

doesnt feel very likely in this draft in general its more second tier that slides

[@davidweber-wh2ft]

You don’t think Flaherty has that ceiling?

[@LockedonGuardians]

I like him quite a bit

[@GuardiansEnjoyer]

De Los Santos is hitting .350 w/ 26 HRs across AA/AAA 😣

[@LockedonGuardians]

He's doing great in the minors. Not an indicator that he would have been ready to perform in the majors right away this year. His chase and contact rates are still a major red flag and there's a massive jump from AAA to the majors anymore

[@thefruch7588]

@@LockedonGuardiansthis. We have to remember there’s a huge gap between AAA and mlb these days

[@GuardiansEnjoyer]

correct but we rode with Florial for a while instead of at least giving him a shot

[@user-vy1oo2rx4d]

Watched Quantril vs Cin. did not look good....

[@LockedonGuardians]

it happens

[@rward2109]

#3 or 4 starter and A RH CF or RF bat is all they need. That's counting on Gavin coming back to near what he was last year. I think Triston is the perfect Bullpen setup type guy if he can get his confidence back.

[@LockedonGuardians]

Triston needs to get his pitches back right now he is a one pitch guy

[@dennisquigney3809]

Are we going to see Joey Cantillo get a chance to start some games here soon in Cleveland? His numbers look good in Columbus. If not him, is Will Dion an option?

[@LockedonGuardians]

Cantillo has a serious problem with walks right now and he won't be an option until he's able to show better control. Dion has struggled as well.

[@kamvex1788]

Honestly, I think a number of trades needs to happen for two reasons. 1 is obvious, upgrading the ML Roster, but 2 is to get rid of some of these logjams so we can start promoting more players. We have too many MIFs and mid SPs to really keep and by the end of the month some of them gotta go just so we can get others that are stuck in lower levels up

[@LockedonGuardians]

The logjams standout to me want to get some value before guys get blocked and value drops

[@dbcollings5739]

BEST case scenario trade fir guardians is to get Taylor Ward and pawn off the defensive metrics of Rocchio to a myopic Angel's GM. #FreeArias!

[@LockedonGuardians]

I would love Ward

[@mikefingerbottom2669]

If you read the tea leaves of Guardians-affiliated "journalism", so many articles about how the price of starting pitching is too high on the trade market this year. Combine that with what we all know about dolan (and his willingness to pay any price for anything) and the fact that Williams and Boyd are already on their way up, and I see a disturbing conclusion... The big starting pitcher trade that everyone is waiting for isn't going to happen.

[@LockedonGuardians]

They have spent in the past at the deadline though dont go too deep into the negative

[@somedudeontwitterstalkedme3829]

I guess, I will continue to spout this mantra. The Cleveland Guardians are a developmental organization now, this idea they should trade off the talent they have developed as it nears the Majors for other people's developed talent is a weird one for me to get my head around, especially with the record they have and having ignored all of the trade and FA talk for three years people have wanted. We don't know how much starting pitching we will need, we still are waiting on Gavin and the guy just signed and hope "Sticks" figures it out, best case scenario is three Starting Pitchers for the stretch run to go with Bibee, a resurgent Lively, maybe Logan, Carrasco Jhonks might hit.... Bo will hit sooner or later,..... Gabby might hit..... Rooch might hit..... Fry might hit again.......Gimmy is going to hit again......Tyler might hit..... Tena outta Tena might hit. I believe the answers to the Guardians may be in-house and am willing to wait and see if the young guys can figure it out. This is about Championships, plural, not lucking into one..... that is a change from how we have always thought of this team and it takes patience and a big picture approach.

[@kevinlopez-gibbs3454]

I understand what you are saying and I hate to trade prospects but Sometimes you just need to trade for a proven player over a lottery ticket (prospect) especially if that player is playing well

[@somedudeontwitterstalkedme3829]

@@kevinlopez-gibbs3454 very valid points if I had not just witnessed the last 3 years of Guardians baseball, I would understand, this Guardian team just feels like it is built differently..... kind of like the early 90's team, when Lofton, Belle, Baerga, Sandy, Vizquel, all hit and what galvanized them was bringing in old ass Eddie Murphy and past his prime Dennis Martinez For me, when they signed Jose to that team friendly contract, it changed the mindset of the Organization, they don't have to luck into a Championship, if they do this correctly, they can compete for Championships every year Jose is under contract. Team comradery is imperative to this squad, is it a better idea to bring up guys they have already fought with or to bring in guys you hope buy into the culture? Then there are Guardian fans... anyone we bring in is going to be under immense pressure to solve all of our fears, even the unfounded ones and with how mean Guardian fans can be, I want younger guys who know how to shut off their social media pages.... hahaha I am not saying you are wrong, I just really want to see how the plan works out...

[@LockedonGuardians]

You must not remember when they could have traded Jaret Wright or Bartolo Colon for Pedro Martinez but chose not to. Clint Frazier could have hit. But he didn't. Do you know who was great in 2016-2017? Andrew Miller. Frazier wasn't Francisco Mejia was supposed to hit. But he didn't. Do you know who that team needed in 2018? Brad Hand. Prospects are prospects. They are always going to work out until they don't.

[@gonolz]

With the way the playoffs are structured now, winning one championship is very much a crapshoot, so winning more than one is probably even more largely dependent on a good deal of luck. In any event, a starting pitcher (#3/#4 in rotation) seems to be necessary, and I agree with the host regarding a OF/DH, maybe a bullpen arm.

[@thefruch7588]

@@LockedonGuardiansagreed. That first part crushes me. Could you imagine those 90’s teams with Pedro….at least one ship in that time frame.. ugh