Guardians AGM's comments just made Cleveland's trade deadline need much more obvious

Over the weekend, Guardians assistant general manager Eric Bidner spoke to the Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes at Globe Life Field, where he talked about the Guardians’ starting pitching depth (or lack thereof). 

Most of the time, a member of the front office talking about a team’s prospect depth comes with a positive reaction given it usually comes with some kind of exciting update. 

But, in Bidner’s case, he mentioned pitchers Logan Allen, Austin Peterson and Yorman Gómez. Good depth options, sure, but it’s not like any of them jump off the page. 

If anything, the fact the three of them stand out as the top depth options shows that the Guardians need to be in the market for a starting pitcher at this year’s trade deadline. 

Even though that wouldn’t look like a need on paper given Cleveland’s used the same five starters all season, they still have a clear need for MLB-ready depth. 

While that doesn’t mean they should go out and get Sandy Alcantara, they do need someone to have as insurance. 

The Guardians need to add to their pitching depth at the trade deadline 

Allen got the first crack at filling that role when the Guardians called him up at the end of May, and he tossed four scoreless innings out of the bullpen in mop-up duty before being sent back to Triple-A.

He has more than 380 MLB innings under his belt and has been working exclusively as a starter in Triple-A, so he’d probably be the first player they called in a pinch. 

Peterson is also in the rotation at Triple-A Columbus and would likely be the next pitcher in line, but he’s still working his way back from a right triceps injury he suffered in the spring. 

Gómez is arguably the most intriguing of the three, but he has yet to pitch in Triple-A due to a shoulder issue and is working his way back in the Arizona Complex League. 

All three pitchers are already on the 40-man roster, so it would be easy for the Guardians to call one of them up as a short-term replacement should something happen. But none of them would be a long-term solution. 

While Cleveland’s rotation has posted a 3.79 ERA this year, that’s mostly been thanks to Parker Messick and Gavin Williams. 

Tanner Bibee had a rough start to the season but has looked more like himself over the past month, while Slade Cecconi and Joey Cantillo have alternated both run into periods of struggles. 

The Guardians’ trio of Williams, Messick and Bibee would make them a threat in the postseason, but there’s a lot of innings to cover before October comes. 

There are always plenty of mid-to-low tier starters available at the deadline, and the Guardians have more than enough prospect depth to acquire any of the starters from that group who could be available this season. 

Although the Guardians’ starting rotation may not look like a huge need, it’s clear that they need to add to their depth. And they have a little less than two months to do so. 

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