5 starting pitchers the Cleveland Guardians should target at the trade deadline

The trade deadline is nearly here, which means the rumor mill is in full swing. And while the Guardians’ starting rotation has turned things around in June, they’re only one injury or ineffective start from needing to look for reinforcements. 

Here are five pitchers who should be on their radar. 

5 starting pitchers the Cleveland Guardians should target at the trade deadline

Freddy Peralta, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers
8-4, 2.90 ERA in 93 innings 

The Brewers are another small market team that’s built up a winning culture thanks to shrewd moves, and trading Peralta is the kind of move they’re known to make. 

In 2022, they traded Josh Hader despite leading the National League Central by three games heading into the trade deadline. 

Could that happen again this year? While the Brewers entered play on Friday in hold of one of the National League’s Wild Card spots, Peralta is an impending free agent, so the Padres might want to deal him at the deadline instead of losing him for nothing. 

Peralta’s posted a 2.90 ERA in 93 innings this year so it would likely take a haul to get him, but he was making $8 million this year and has an $8 million team option for next season.

He’s the golden goose for starting pitchers at this year’s deadline.

Zac Gallen, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
5-9, 5.75 ERA in 97 innings

An All-Star in 2023, Gallen posted three straight seasons with a sub-3.70 ERA before struggling this year. While he’s gone at least five innings in but one of his starts this year, he’s also allowed at least three runs in all of his last nien starts (a span where he has a 6.97 ERA). 

He’s an impending free agent (as is his fellow rotation mate Merrill Kelly), which means this would be a trade where the Guardians would be hoping that Carl Willis and the rest of Cleveland’s pitching factory would be able to help him turn things around fast.

Sandy Alcantara, RHP, Miami Marlins
4-8, 6.69 ERA in 74 innings 

Another buy-low candidate, Alcantara won the National League Cy Young before having a solid 2023 season that ended with him having Tommy John surgery. 

He struggled at the beginning of the year but has posted a 2.74 ERA across four June starts. He has two-and-a-half years of team control left and has the best résumé of any pitcher on this list, so his price would likely be the highest of any pitcher on this list. 

The past month has shown that he can be a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter. Is that his ceiling from here on out?

Andrew Heaney, LHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
3-7, 4.46 ERA in 86 1/3 innings

Heaney is probably the most likely pitcher to get moved on this list since he’s on a one-year deal for a Pirates team that won’t be doing anything this season. 

The 35-year-old started the year hot (2.91 ERA across his first 10 starts) before struggling as of late (he has a 7.01 ERA in June and has allowed seven runs in each of his last two starts). 

He primarily throws four pitches and relies on his fastball - changeup combo, but has struggled with location throughout his career. While that’s not an eye-popping profile, it’s not that dissimilar to Ben Lively’s, and he tallied a 3.68 ERA across 195 2/3 innings in Cleveland before suffering his season-ending arm injury.

Tyler Anderson, LHP, Los Angeles Angels
2-5, 4.41 ERA in 85 2/3 innings 

The Guardians got a first-hand look at Anderson earlier this year when allowed just two runs over five innings in the Angels win against Cleveland in April. That game was kind of prototypical Anderson outing, as he only allowed one hit but walked four batters and struck out five. 

He was an All-Star last year and got off to a strong start this year, but has posted a 6.47 ERA across his last eight starts. He limits hard contract (79th percentile in hard-hit rate) and has some swing-and-miss (70th percentile in chase rate), but, like Heaney, he mostly pitches to contact.