Buster Olney’s list of trade deadline needs shows just how much of an uphill climb Guardians have in AL 

While the American League postseason picture is a bit lackluster (to say the least), it’s filled with aggressive team owners who seem willing to make the move necessary to upgrade their team. 

We got an example of that earlier today when ESPN’s Buster Olney ranked all the contenders he described as “desperate” to make moves at the deadline. While he had the Guardians in the No. 11 spot, teams from the American League occupied four of the top six spots on the list. 

Two of those spots were occupied by obvious buyers in the Yankees and Mariners, the other two were taken up by the White Sox and Rays — two tangible examples of how varied this year’s AL postseason picture is. 

The Guardians aren’t the only American League team looking to upgrade at the trade deadline 

If the Guardians are serious in their quest to compete this year, they’re going to need to make some kind of addition this year, preferably to their lineup.

Olney talked about that in his write-up about the Guardians, as he wrote the Guardians could “consider a full range of upgrades” to their offense while putting Lane Thomas as a possible fit for the Guardians. 

Even if Thomas would be a great fit for the Guardians, they may need to think a little bigger if they want to keep pace with the rest of the American League’s additions. 

Olney had the White Sox at No. 2 on his list, which seems to show how aggressive Chicago could be at the deadline. Their biggest needs are a catcher and No. 5 starter. 

They shouldn’t have a problem adding a pitcher, but the catcher market got flipped on its head yesterday when Jeremy Zoll seemed to take Ryan Jeffers off the market by declaring the Twins as buyers. 

Still, they seem like a lock to make an upgrade. 

The same can be said for the Yankees, who have one of the most aggressive front offices in baseball (even if it’s not as aggressive as Yankees fans would like). 

They have a clear need for a right-handed hitter thanks to injuries to Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger’s injuries, so the Guardians could be fighting them for any available hitters. 

Then there’s the Rays and Mariners. While the Rays don’t spend a lot of money, they seem willing to add at this year’s deadline and are even considered a sleeper team for Tarik Skubal. 

Although it would be nice to see Skubal get out of the American League Central, him joining the Rays could be a scary development once the postseason rolls around. 

The Mariners are also in need of a right-handed bat thanks to struggles from their big three of Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor, so they could end up being in on some of the players the Guardians are considering. 

They also seem willing to dip into their big league starting pitching depth to make a trade for a hitter, which is an advantage the Guardians don’t really have. 

While we knew the Guardians were going to have a ton of competition on the trade market, Olney’s story was a good reminder of just how many familiar teams they’re going to be competing against ahead of next Monday’s trade deadline.

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