4 former Guardians who could end up flipping 2026 trade deadline on its head

On Wednesday, Guardians fans got to a take a tripe down memory lane through the MLB waiver wire when the Athletics designated Aaron Civale for assignment.

And, with MLB’s trade season about to hit full swing, Civale won’t be the only former Guardian whose name could be thrust into the baseball zeitgeist via some kind of transaction.

With that in mind, here are four former Guardians who could end up being involved in a trade before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. 

There are plenty of former Guardians who could be on the move at the trade deadline

1B Josh Bell (Minnesota Twins)
.248/.307/.429, 13 HR, 60 RBI in 94 games

In 2023, the Guardians punted on their season by trading Josh Bell to the Miami Marlins for then-prospect Khalil Watson. 

While it was a divisive trade at the time, it has turned into a clear win given Watson’s become a big league contributor for the Guardians and Bell’ has bounced around MLB since. But he’s settled in this year and is in the midst of what looks to be his most productive season since he won a Silver Slugger in 2022. 

All that sets up what could be an interesting deadline for the 33-year-old, who is on a one-year, $7 million deal with a mutual option for 2027. 

The Twins seem set to straddle the line between buyer and seller, as they currently sit at 48-49 and are tied with the Mariners for the American League’s final Wild Card spot. 

Even if the Twins hold off on a fire sale, trading Bell could still make sense given he’s not a part of the team’s long term picture. Mutual options are almost never picked up, so he’s pretty much guaranteed to be a free agent after the season. 

2B/OF Tyler Freeman (Colorado Rockies)
.265/.343/.342, 3 HR, 23 RBI in 66 games

The Guardians dealt Freeman to the Rockies last spring training in exchange for Tyler Freeman, and his time with Colorado has been exactly what was expected. He’s gotten on base at a solid clip without hitting for much power and has moved around the diamond — albeit without a ton of success. 

But even if that isn’t the most attractive profile in MLB, there could still be some trade interest for him given his potential value off the bench (it’s a big reason why the Yankees traded for Amed Rosario at last year’s deadline). 

He still has two years of team control remaining so the Rockies wouldn’t give him up for nothing, but he’d be a good discount option for a team looking to fortify its bench. 

LHP Sam Hentges (San Francisco Giants)
1-2, 2.04 ERA, 21 K in 17 2/3 innings 

Although the Giants season has gone off the rails, Hentges has been a pleasant surprise in his first MLB action since 2024 due to arm injuries. 

He didn’t make his season debut until May, but has held the opposition scoreless in 19 of his 23 outings and has tossed five straight scoreless innings. 

That dominance has come in a bit of a new way, as he’s held right-handed hitters to a .091 average compared to left-handed hitters having a .323 batting average against. 

Hentges signed a one-year, $1.4 million deal with the GIants in the offseason and is still under team control next year via arbitration, but his value may never be higher. And that could be music to Buster Posey’s ears as the Giants’ season circles the drain. 

If Posey chooses, he could sell high on Hentges and take advantage of the sellers market. 

OF Lane Thomas (Kansas City Royals)
.234/.335/.390, 7 HR, 31 RBI in 82 games 

It may seem hard to believe, but Thomas is just 10 games away from playing the number of regular season games with the Royals this season that he did during his two seasons with the Guardians. 

But he may not end up playing more than that due to the Royals’ free fall (38-59 record). 

Thomas seems to be fully healthy after struggling with plantar fasciitis, which has helped him get back to being the kind of player the Guardians expected.

He’s in the 92nd percentile in sprint speed, 95th percentile in chase rate and 85th percentile in chase rate. He’s also in the 97th percentile in arm strength, though he still has the same range limitations. 

Thomas’ stats this year look incredibly similar to they did in 2024 when the Guardians acquired him from the Nationals for three prospects. No team is going to give up that much for him this year since he’s an impending free agent, but he seems like a lock to get dealt as the Royals continue to fall out of contention. 

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