3 most tradeable Guardians players with GM Meetings on the horizon

The General Manager meetings are kicking off this week, which serves as the unofficial start of hot stove season. While there may not be a ton of trades during this week’s meetings, things could kick into overdrive in the next couple weeks due to a lot of the conversations that will be held this week. 

With that in mind, here’s three Guardians players who could be involved in those preliminary talks. 

The Guardians could make a big trade swing in the next month

C/OF Cooper Ingle 

Ingle made his long-awaited debut for the Guardians last season, but he went just 2-for-21 in seven games before being sent back to Triple-A. While no opposing front office was going to change their opinion on Ingle because of that brief cameo, he silenced any doubts by recording a .938 OPS in 53 games at Triple-A after getting sent down. 

While Ingle stands out as a clear solution to the Guardians’ offensive struggles, there’s also a case to be made that he holds more value as a trade piece. He’s done nothing but mash in Triple-A, but all of his big league appearances came as an outfielder or designated hitter after he spent almost all of his minor league career serving as a catcher. 

The Guardians can always use more offense, but their distrust of Ingle behind the plate makes it tougher to forecast his big league future. They could trade him as part of a deal for an established big league return and make that path someone else’s problem.

RHP Hunter Gaddis 

Gaddis has largely been dominant since the Guardians moved him to the bullpen in 2022, but the Guardians have proven their among MLB’s best at developing young pitchers into shutdown relievers. They don’t need to trade Gaddis, but dealing him would allow for the Guardians to trade from a position of strength to upgrade their offense. 

Although Gaddis doesn’t have the same kind of save numbers as Cade Smith, it’s not hard to imagine some team could see the work he’s done in the eighth inning and try to turn him into a ninth inning option. Plus he still has three years of team control left via arbitration. 

Gaddis being on the Guardians’ roster next season wouldn’t be a bad thing, but this could be the offseason to deal him. 

UTL Daniel Schneemann

Schneemann doesn’t have the same kind of pedigree as the other two players on this list. In fact he has a wRC+ of 75 over the past two seasons, which is tied for the 11th worst mark in MLB over that time. 

But the one thing he can do is play defense. Lots and lots of defense. Schneemann’s appeared at every position but catcher and first base in his big league career, and has also combined for 15 Outs Above Average in the past two seasons. 

The Guardians love having him on the bench, but his offensive limitations made it tougher to keep him on the diamond as the season went on. He got demoted to Triple-A at the trade deadline, and he recorded just 10 at-bats in the final month of the season after getting called up on Sept. 1. 

The Guardians wouldn’t be able to get a ton for Schneemann in a trade, but dealing him now would give them a chance to get something for him as opposed to DFAing him and losing him for nothing. 

Honorable mention: Steven Kwan 

It’s impossible to mention the Guardians’ trade outlook without mentioning Kwan, who is an impending free agent with a rising price tag. But while he’s going to be a mainstay in trade rumors for a good portion of the next 12 months, it would take a lot for the Guardians to deal him ahead of the impending lockout.

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