5 Guardians players who survived the trade deadline, but will be gone by next season

The trade deadline has come and gone, and the Guardians’ major league roster doesn’t look much different than it did last week. But that doesn’t mean that change isn’t on the horizon. 

While the Guardians may not make a ton of changes to their major league roster this season as they continue on their postseason quest, it looks like things could look very different by the time next season rolls around. 

5 Guardians players who survived the trade deadline, but will be gone by next season

LF Steven Kwan 

It hurts. We know. But, at this point, it seems like Kwan’s as good as gone this offseason unless he and the Guardians are able to come together on an extension. 

Although no one was willing to meet the Guardians’ asking price for Kwan at the trade deadline, teams are always more willing to make deals in the offseason. 

Kwan enters play on Tuesday hitting .283 with nine home runs, 38 RBI and the same number of walks and strikeouts (40), making him one of the top players who could be available in the winter, alongside free agent Kyle Tucker. 

The Guardians have already shown a willingness to consider offers on Kwan, and the rest of baseball now knows their asking price for him. 

It seems like it’s a matter of time until he ends up elsewhere. 

1B Carlos Santana

It may be cheating to include a 39-year-old impending free agent on this list, but it seems like there’s no shot Santana comes back next year, either due to retirement or the team letting him head elsewhere. 

While he’s on pace to have his worst offensive season since 2021, his time with Cleveland this year hasn’t been all bad thanks to strong defense and good eye at the plate, but it’s time for the Guardians to turn first base over to Kyle Manzardo and C.J. Kayfus. 

It made some sense to have Santana in the rotation at first this year, but Manzardo has more than proven that he’s able to handle the position everyday. The Guardians may not cut Santana during the season, but it seems like there’s very little chance that he comes back next year. 

OF Lane Thomas 

Another impending free agent, it’s hard to believe the Guardians would tender Thomas a contract after how much of a disaster his time in Cleveland has been. 

While he had some big swings in last year’s postseason, he’s only hit .189 in 92 regular season games with Cleveland, and likely would have been traded at this year’s deadline had he been healthy. 

It also remains to be seen what the Guardians will be able to get out of him the rest of this season. He’s currently on the 10-day injured list with plantar fasciitis and will be in a walking boot for another week, so he seems tracking for a late August return at the earliest. 

There’s no denying the Guardians still need help in their outfield, but they’re going to be in the market for outfielders with team control and potential. Thomas may not have either. 

OF Jhonkensy Noel

Last October, Noel swung his way into the hearts of Clevelanders everywhere with his clutch home run against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. 

It looks like there’s a chance that could be his only signature moment in Cleveland. 

The Guardians elected to send the slumping Noel to Triple-A in June after he hit just .146 through his first 46 games, and we haven’t seen him since outside of a three-game cameo in Houston when Manzardo was away from the team. 

He still has light tower power, but he hasn’t been able to overcome an inconsistent swing. 

Noel still has one more minor league option left, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Guardians cut bait with him in the offseason to free up a spot on the 40-man roster. 

OF Johnathan Rodríguez

Rodríguez may have a strong minor league track record, but he hasn’t done enough at the big league level to earn a spot on the roster going forward. Not only did he slash just .167/.214/.303 in 28 games with the Guardians this year, but he also played subpar defense in right. 

While Rodríguez showed some flashes with Triple-A Columbus, he hasn’t been able to keep the ball off the ground in the big leagues (67.2% career ground-ball rate), and was quickly becoming a black hole in the bottom of the Guardians’ roster. 

They’re going to need to fix things in right field next year, but that doesn’t mean that Rodríguez should be a part of that picture.