Cleveland Guardians considered possible suitor for veteran pitcher

When evaluating the state of the Cleveland Guardians' starting rotation, it feels somewhat incomplete. While those who follow this team closely have a higher level of confidence in those will make up Cleveland's starting five, the same feeling does not apply to the outside observer. This results in connections being made between the Guardians and teams looking to move starting pitchers.

The latest connection being made comes from Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer in an attempt to identify some possible landing spots for San Diego Padres veteran Michael King. Cleveland comes in as the 10th-ranked team in Rymer's eyes, citing the way they have approached their pitching staff this offseason, "The Guardians are worth bringing up because they have yet to substantially improve their starting rotation.".

There is no disputing Rymer's assessment of the way the Guardians have operated this offseason, considering their only notable additions include Luis Ortiz, Slade Cecconi, and Paul Sewald. This does not sound like the level of activity a team that was in the ALCS last season should be acting. With King coming off a season that saw him finish with a 2.95 ERA, 1.192 WHIP, and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings, this would make him the perfect pitcher to pair with Tanner Bibee that could take the Guardians to the next level in 2025.

As intriguing as all this might sound, it might be best not to expect it to happen. Rymer essentially states that Cleveland is on this list by default, "They are nonetheless a strictly speculative possibility, as they have not been connected to King or any other notable hurler on the trade market.". Again, this is another accurate statement by Rymer, as the Guardians have basically been dormant when it comes to being involved with known pitching commodities.

It would be nice for the Guardians to be genuinely interested in bringing a player with King's talent level into the mix, but it appears they are more comfortable playing the quantity over quality game when it comes to managing the talent within the organization. Hopefully, one of the arms they have acquired this offseason becomes someone they can count on to deliver a solid start for years to come.