Finally! Guardians part ways with Myles Straw

In a move that can only be described as long overdue, the Cleveland Guardians have finally moved on from veteran outfielder Myles Straw.

Cleveland agreed to terms with the Toronto Blue Jays on a deal that has Straw going north of the border along with International Pool Money in exchange for future considerations (a player to be named later or cash). The Guardians are also sending $1 million per year for Straw's salary in 2025 and 2026 with an additional payment being made if the Blue Jays buy Straw of his contract at a later date.

The motivation for the Guardians in this deal is very clear, ridding themselves of the financial commitment to Straw. The 30-year-old outfielder is owed $6.4 million in 2025 and $7.4 million in 2026 with two club options, $8 million in 2027 and $8.5 million in 2028, both of which are likely to be declined by Toronto.

When the Guardians acquired Straw from the Houston Astros in 2021, it seemed like they may have stumbled on to a hidden gem that was overlooked in their stacked lineup. Straw slashed .285/.362/.377 in 60 games. This resulted in the Guardians signing Straw to a five-year $25 million extension which at the time looked like a bargain. The problem was Straw would not be able to match his offensive output from the end of the 2021 season.

The next two seasons saw Straw's slash line plummet to .229/.296/.284, far from being anything close to a respectable mark for a major league outfielder, even one that is in the lineup primarily for defense and baserunning abilities. There comes a certain point when a player's performance is so poor that no amount of defensive wizardry or elite baserunning can make up for it, and that is exactly what happened to Straw.

Straw made only four plate appearances in seven games for the Guardians in 2024, spending most of his time with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. This was in part due to Cleveland having better major league options and Straw's own declining skill set. Straw was never a particularly strong hitter, but he was initially able to make up for that with his defense, which unfortunately took a massive step back in 2023, his last full major league season. Essentially, Straw became unplayable making his subsequent demotion to the minors more than justified.

With Straw's time in Cleveland now officially over, this closes the book one of the Guardians' rare roster construction misses, and hopefully, they will be able to take the money that was once owed to Straw and find a way to improve other areas of their roster.