Trade candidates who could fit with Guardians

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CLEVELAND -- Tanner Bibee said it best on Friday night: “We’re in a major buy mode -- I hope. And everyone really wants to win.”

The Guardians (60-40) haven’t gotten off to the start they would’ve wanted coming out of the All-Star break (2-3), but that shouldn’t change their approach to Tuesday's 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline. It’s only put an even greater spotlight on the areas Cleveland needs to address in order to maintain its position atop the American League Central.

Yes, the offense has struggled, and it could use some help too. (Cleveland is 9-14 since June 26 and has averaged 3.35 runs per game, the second-lowest mark in MLB over that span.) But the biggest issue that’s plagued the Guardians all season is their starting rotation. The offense can only do so much if the starters can't pitch beyond the fourth inning or if they give up too many runs for the lineup to be able to compete.

The Guardians got a head start on adding pitching depth when they signed Matthew Boyd on June 29. Boyd started a rehab assignment on July 16 as he works his way back from June 2023 Tommy John surgery. He's with Double-A Akron, and the expectation is that he’ll be ready for Major League action in August. But Cleveland knows it needs more than just Boyd as an option.

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The Guardians will need to weigh a couple of things before making any moves. They won’t want to deplete their farm system, but they know they have plenty of middle infielders they could move, especially now that second baseman Travis Bazzana (the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft) is in the mix. They won’t want to take on someone too expensive, especially for non-rentals who are signed through 2025.

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The deal has to make sense, but the Guardians have an unexpected window of contention this season, and this is the time to capitalize. So who could make sense to add before the Deadline? Let’s look at four potential starting pitcher options: two rentals and two signed beyond 2024.

RHP Erick Fedde, White Sox
Signed through 2025
The Guardians are already relying on one starter who reinvented himself overseas in Ben Lively, so why not add another? Fedde spent 2023 in the KBO, and he has come back to Major League Baseball looking like a completely different hurler than he did in six seasons with the Nationals from 2017-22. Fedde has a 2.98 ERA with 104 strikeouts and 32 walks in 117 2/3 innings over 20 starts. The best part? His contract is a two-year, $15 million deal through ‘25. It doesn’t get much cheaper than that for the numbers he’s posted.

RHP Jon Gray, Rangers
Signed through 2025
Gray looks even more enticing after he allowed one run on four hits in 7 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and no walks on Tuesday night. Aside from two clunky starts in June, Gray (3.73 ERA in 94 innings over 20 appearances/17 starts) has been pretty consistent at keeping runs off the board this season, although he hasn’t been the innings eater the Guardians would prefer to have. But again, that’s why a performance like Tuesday is important to see. He is owed $13 million in 2025.

LHP Yusei Kikuchi, Blue Jays
Rental: Free agent this winter
Kikuchi is making $10 million this year, and the Guardians would just need to pay the balance for the rest of this season. Kikuchi was excellent through June 11, owning a 3.26 ERA in 14 starts, but he’s given up at least four runs in five of his past seven outings. However, Kikuchi has completed at least six innings in nine of his 21 starts this year, and he has gone at least five innings in 15 outings. He has a 4.54 ERA and 125 strikeouts with 28 walks in 111 innings.

RHP Jack Flaherty, Tigers
Rental: Free agent this winter
If the Guardians are looking for consistency, look no further. Flaherty has completed at least five innings in each 17 of his starts this season. And aside from three of those outings, he’s given up three or fewer earned runs in the rest. Flaherty has a 3.13 ERA with 127 strikeouts and 17 walks in 100 2/3 innings. He is making $14 million this season, so Cleveland would need to pay the remaining balance. Neither of these rentals would be breaking the bank.