5 players the Cleveland Guardians should avoid in free agency

2. Mitch Haniger: Right Fielder - Seattle Mariners

Getting some help in the outfield should be somewhat of a priority for the Cleveland Guardians this offseason. Sure, Steven Kwan is a stud in left field, but the rest of the group leaves something to be desired. There was a time not long ago that Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger would have made sense for the Guardians, but that time has since passed.

Injuries and poor performance have been the main culprits preventing Haniger from being the impact player he appeared to be all the way back in 2018. Since then, Haniger has failed to appear in more than 63 games in three of the five seasons he has played in (Haniger sat out 2020).

While the 2021 season did appear that Haniger had his career back on track (.253/.318/.485 slash line, 39 home runs, 23 doubles, and 122 OPS+ in 157 games), he has failed to match that success in the following seasons. From 2022 to 2024, Haniger's slash line has dropped to .218/.287/.368, while he has only managed to hit 33 doubles and 29 home runs in 239 games.

At this point in his career, Haniger is too much of a risk to be under consideration for the full-time outfield bat the Guardians truly need.