2022 Cleveland Guardians trade target: first baseman Luke Voit

First base remains an area of concern for the Guardians, and the Yankees’ Luke Voit could be the perfect solution.

There has been plenty of talk about the Guardians’ outfield and what the team can do to fix it, but first base remains a potential area of – let’s say mild – concern as well.

With Josh Naylor out until possibly the middle of the season, Bobby Bradley is, as of right now, the de facto first baseman, with Yu Chang able to spell him. There’s just no way Nolan Jones is making this team out of spring training, but he could be a longshot to maybe get some at-bats later in the season should he explode out of the gate at Triple-A Columbus.

With this in mind, the Guardians should be looking outside the organization for some potential first base help. Luke Voit of the New York Yankees could certainly be a solution, and here’s why.

2022 Cleveland Guardians trade target: first baseman Luke Voit

Prior to his injury-plagued 2021, Voit was really starting to break out. He led all of baseball with 22 home runs in the shortened 2020 season (which coincided with a delicious 153 wRC+), and hit .263/.378/.464 with 21 home runs, 21 doubles, 62 RBIs and a 126 wRC+ in 118 games in 2019.

And though he strikes out like plenty of other power hitters, Voit also excels at getting on base. The former 22nd-round pick has a career .357 on-base percentage through his five seasons, and had truly elite wOBA (.393) and xwOBA (.388) numbers in 2020.

Defensively, well… let’s just say you aren’t picking up Voit for that reason. He sported a -2 Outs Above Average in 2021 (and a whopping -10 OAA back in 2019) along with a -2 Defensive Runs Saved. To put that in some context, Bobby Bradley had a 0 OAA and -1 Defensive Runs Saved last season.

Voit, 30, is arbitration-eligible this season and is expected to make somewhere around $5.4 million, and while there is no guarantee New York is even really thinking about trading him, the Yankees have a lot of decisions to make about their payroll – especially if they are looking at some of the big-name free agents still out there. That includes Anthony Rizzo, who could certainly re-sign with the Yankees after being acquired from the Cubs last season.

Depending on other moves New York wants to make, Voit could find himself as the odd man out in the Yankees lineup. There is of course that possibility of Rizzo returning to play first base, but what if the Yankees end up signing a huge free agent like shortstop Carlos Correa? Or really any shortstop? Not only does that throw the lineup into disarray, the Yankees might then be looking for anywhere they can possibly cut payroll, and Voit’s $5.4 million would be an easy start.

New York might also be taking Voit’s injuries into consideration. He missed the start of the 2021 season due to surgery to repair a tear in his left meniscus, then went back on the IL in July with left knee inflammation before re-aggravating the knee again before the end of the season.

Even before that, Voit was beginning to lose playing time in the Yankees lineup, which had undergone sweeping changes at the trade deadline.

The fact is, even if the Yankees don’t re-sign Rizzo, New York could opt to have DJ LeMahieu play first base at any point, depending on what the team wants to do at short. There are a lot of options for the Yankees at first, and it’s not guaranteed at all that Voit will end up on top.

So what would acquiring Voit do to Bobby Bradley’s time in Cleveland? It doesn’t necessarily spell doom for him; there is a universe where on some days the right-handed Voit could play first, Bradley could DH, and Franmil Reyes could play right field. And when you include Jose Ramirez among them, that’s a whole lot of power the Guardians could begin featuring in their lineup.

Even with the potential injury concerns and Voit’s age, he’s a gamble worth taking for the Guardians.