3 untouchable Guardians the front office shouldn't trade at the Winter Meetings

With MLB's annual Winter Meetings less than a week away, the Cleveland Guardians are poised for a pivotal offseason. And their mandate for that offseason is clear: acquire offense.

However, in their aggressive pursuit of hitting, the front office must exercise extreme discipline and resist any tempting trade packages involving these three players.

It's one thing to dangle a marginal player as a trade sweetener, but all three of these players would arguably be the headliner of their deal and need to stay in Cleveland.

These three Guardians should be considering untouchable

Steven Kwan: The irreplaceable offensive catalyst

Kwan is perhaps the most obvious name who must be deemed untouchable. In an organization that has chronically struggled with offensive consistency, Kwan is the rare player who provides a stable, high-floor outcome every time he steps to the plate.

In 2025, he hit .272 with a .330 on-base percentage to go along with 11 home runs and 21 stolen bases. He provides the perfect blend of contact, speed, and gap power.

Trading Kwan, one of the Guardians' few consistent offensive weapons, makes zero sense when the team’s core goal is to generate more runs. Furthermore, his defensive value is immense: he finished fourth among AL left fielders in Defensive Runs Saved and won his fourth Gold Glove award; he's led all MLB left fielders in Outs Above Average since 2022.

Kwan is not only an outstanding, cost-controlled performer but he is also a beloved clubhouse presence and a cornerstone that any competitive offense is built upon. Dealing him would signal a step back for the team's championship window.

Nolan Jones: The high-upside power bat

While Jones name being on this list may surprise you since he posted a slashline of just .211/.296/.304, his underlying metrics scream potential. Jones is exactly the high-exit velocity, raw power bat the Guardians' lineup desperately needs. All year, he hit the ball hard, but suffered from poor luck, reflected in a lower Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) compared to his breakout 2023 season in Colorado.

Encouragingly, towards the end of the season, he started to locate that lost power and balls began falling in his favor. Jones’s versatility is his hidden weapon: if he can return to the form he showed previously in his career, he is an immediate and valuable rotational player who can fill spots in the outfield, designated hitter, or even first base.

The Guardians cannot give up on a player who possesses this much raw, controllable power just before his potential breakout. His ceiling is higher than any acquisition they are likely to make for him.

Joey Cantillo: The versatile pitching insurance

Cantillo is the most tempting trade piece on this list, which is precisely why the Guardians must be wary in moving him. The young left-hander had a strong 2025 season, shuttling effectively between the rotation and the bullpen.

He finished the year with an excellent 3.21 ERA and a strong 1.26 WHIP across 95.1 innings (34 games, 13 starts) with 108 strikeouts. While the Guardians finishing the year with a six-man rotation suggests his rotation spot may be limited, his versatility is why he is invaluable.

Cantillo can provide deep, multi-inning relief if a starter gets in trouble early, and he proved he can be a solid rotation piece when called upon. A team in desperate need of starting pitching could offer the Guardians a package "too good to pass up," but losing this kind of durable, left-handed pitching depth, especially for a team that relies heavily on pitching to win, is a critical mistake.

His best fit for the Guardians in 2026 is as a high-leverage, multi-inning reliever, a role that is vital for every postseason team. They must resist the urge to trade the known commodity of a highly successful MLB arm for a collection of prospects or a single, unproven bat.