CLEVELAND, Ohio — Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is 48 days away and the Guardians could be one of the teams looking to strike a deal that opens up playing opportunities for both top prospects and young talent already at the major league level.
Potential trade candidates include starting pitchers Shane Bieber and Cal Quantrill, a reliever such as James Karinchak, and veteran position players including as Amed Rosario and Mike Zunino.
Each trade candidate creates his own set of opportunities for younger players to step in and fill the void left by his departure. Below are a few of the possibilities.
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Tyler Freeman: If Cleveland finds a trade partner for Amed Rosario, Freeman stands to benefit the most with playing time either at shortstop or second base. Perhaps the Guardians would prefer to keep Gabriel Arias, viewed by many as the club’s most versatile defender, in a utility role that allows him to play in the outfield and at first base on occasion. Freeman’s ability to play third base also gives him a chance to fill in for Jose Ramirez when manager Terry Francona wants to give the All-Star a day off his feet. Freeman has made the most of his chances lately. In nine June games he is batting .286 with a pair of doubles and three RBI.
Xzavion Curry: A deal for either Quantrill or Karinchak could cement Curry’s spot in the bullpen, where he has excelled this season at providing rescue innings when a starter gets knocked out early, or a game gets stretched into extras. With fellow rookies Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen looking like they have a pretty solid grasp on their current spots in the rotation, the problem will soon become what to do with Quantrill once he is healthy enough to come off the injured list. Quantrill in the past has filled a role similar to what Curry is pitching in right now for Francona, but if it comes down to a choice between the two, it would likely be Curry heading down to Triple-A to create room for the veteran. With Karinchak filling more of a late-inning role, Curry could get bumped if the need arises for more help on the back end. Thus far, the 24-year-old righty has pitched to a sparkling 2.36 ERA in 34 1/3 innings with 23 strikeouts and a 1.08 WHIP. Allowing Curry to continue flourishing in his current role could be a collateral benefit of trading Quantrill, Karinchak or even Bieber, which would allow Quantrill to return to a spot in the rotation.
Bo Naylor: Attaching Zunino to a big-ticket veteran such as Bieber in a trade would help Cleveland in a number of ways. Whatever team takes on Zunino could immediately designate him for assignment if they were willing to eat all or part of his remaining salary, similar to the Pablo Sandoval trade Cleveland made with Boston in 2021. Either way, it would clear a spot for Naylor to join the club and share catching duties with Cam Gallagher, whom Guardians pitchers are growing more and more comfortable throwing to. In 28 appearances, Gallagher sports a 2.62 catcher ERA while cutting down 5 of 26 potential base stealers (19%). Zunino has a 4.64 catcher ERA in 41 games while throwing out 15.4% of base stealers. To say that neither Gallagher nor Zunino are lighting it up offensively is the understatement of the season. Combined, the two have a weighted runs created (plus) of about 32, which is 68% below league average. Naylor, on the other hand, has been tearing it up at Triple-A, waiting for his opportunity to break through in the big leagues. He is currently hitting .258 with 13 home runs, 48 RBI and a .905 OPS. On Sunday, assistant general manager James Harris said the challenge of when to bring Naylor up depended in part on his opportunity to play multiple games in a week at Columbus versus once or twice a week in Cleveland. Trading Zunino would take care of that problem. “You can bring him up and be C2 or maybe even C3 because we’re carrying three catchers, but is that the best way to prepare him? I don’t think so,” Harris said. “But again, we are, we’re trying to figure these things out. We’re trying to make the best decisions we possibly can. We don’t have a crystal ball to tell us exactly how he’s going to be great.”
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