4 former Guardians prospects who have made MLB impression elsewhere

While the Guardians tend to hoard prospects like no other franchise in MLB, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some occasions where they’ve let talented prospects go who ended up finding success elsewhere. 

Here’s a look at four former Guardians prospects who fit into that category. 

Note: All stats are going in Monday’s games.

There are plenty of former Guardians prospects having success elsewhere

3B Junior Caminero, Rays
.273/.373/.482, 14 HR, 30 RBI in 67 games 

The granddaddy of them all. 

You likely know the story by now. The Guardians traded Caminero (who had just finished his inaugural season in the Dominican Summer League) to the Rays ahead of the 2022 season in exchange for Tobias Myers, who never pitched in a big league game for the Guardians. 

Meanwhile, Caminero rose to become the top prospect in baseball in 2024 and is on pace to be named an All-Star for the second straight season. 

While no one expected Caminero to become the kind of player that he is now, this is still one of the worst trades in modern MLB. 

INF Ernie Clement, Blue Jays
.305/.325/.463, 7 HR, 28 RBI in 70 games 

While Clement had two successful solid seasons with the Blue Jays in 2023 and ‘24, it hit a fever pitch last season when he served as the catalyst for Toronto’s World Series run while setting the record for hits in a postseason.

He’s carried that production over to this season and entered the week with 90 hits and an MLB-leading 19 doubles, though the Blue Jays haven’t had nearly as much success this season. 

Although Clement didn’t do much for Cleveland in the 103 games he played with the club, he’s still considered a fan favorite. His success in Toronto has been fun to watch from afar. 

C Yainer Diaz, Astros
.238/.255/.347, 2 HR, 14 RBI in 26 games 

Even though Diaz is in the midst of the worst season of his career, the Guardians’ decision to trade him for Myles Straw still hasn’t aged well. 

Diaz burst onto the scene in 2022 when he hit .282 with 23 home runs in 104 games. In total, he slashed .279/.306/.455 with 59 home runs and 214 RBI in 395 games from 2022 to to ‘25 while working as the Astros’ primary backstop. 

Meanwhile, Straw won a Gold Glove with the Guardians in 2022 but was never able to put it together at the plate. Cleveland dumped his contract to the Blue Jays prior to last season where he’s become a productive player. 

While Diaz got off to that aforementioned rough start this year before being placed on the injured list with an oblique injury, he’s still another one who got away. 

2B Richie Palacios, Rays
.230/.337/.309, 1 HR, 20 RBI in 50 games 

Palacios made his MLB debut in 2022 as a part of the Guardians’ youth movement, and quietly ended up playing in 54 games for Cleveland. 

The Cardinals claimed him ahead of the 2023 season after the Guardians designated him for assignment before being traded to the Rays in the following offseason in exchange for Andrew Kittridge. 

That set up what’s been a successful two-plus season stint with the Rays (though he missed most of the 2025 season with a knee issue). 

Palacios put together arguably the best month of his career last May when he had a .738 OPS with 12 RBI in 20 games, though he’s fallen a bit back to earth this month. 

Even if the Guardians were right to DFA Palacios since it was clear he wasn’t a part of their long-term plans, his success with the Rays has still been fun to watch from afar. 

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