Guardians fans should be ready to say goodbye to 2 players at the MLB trade deadline

The Cleveland Guardians have started to turn things around a bit as of late after, it still seems like they’re going to be doing some kind of selling at the trade deadline. 

While they likely won’t be selling off young players who look to be part of the team’s core, they still boast some veterans on expiring contracts who could net them a decent return at the deadline — namely Carlos Santana and Lane Thomas. 

Guardians fans should be ready to say goodbye to 2 players at the MLB trade deadline

1B Carlos Santana
.230/.326/.353, 10 HR, 38 RBI

The player who is mostly likely to be gone is Santana, who is 39 and on a one-year contract. His name has been swirling in trade rumors all year and for a while it looked like he was playing well enough to net a decent return. But that’s all gone by the wayside. 

After posting a .772 OPS through the first 55 games of the season, Santana’s recorded an OPS of just .510 across his last 30 games. While he’s still a great fielder (seven Outs Above Average; 95th percentile), he’s not getting on base at the same clip as earlier in his career (.326 on-base percentage). 

But that shouldn’t stop the Guardians from trading him, since Santana’s presence on the roster has pigeonholed Kyle Manzardo into a platoon/designated hitter role along with keeping surging prospect CJ Kayfus in Triple-A.  

Santana was traded at the deadline in 2022 and netted two minor leaguers before being traded again in 2023 in exchange for a prospect. He’s on pace to match his 2023 production, so Cleveland should be able to get at least some kind of prospect flier for him.

OF Lane Thomas
.160/.246/.272, 4 HR, 11 RBI 

A year after being Cleveland’s big trade deadline acquisition, Thomas could be on the move again. An impending free agent, he’s put together one of the worst walk years you can have, as he’s hitting just .160 and is currently on the injured list due to plantar fasciitis. 

It’s the second time he’s been placed on the injured list due to plantar fasciitis, and he also missed about a month after being hit by a pitch on the right wrist in Cleveland’s home opener. 

Thomas mashed three home runs in his final 10 games before going on the injured list, but hasn’t been able to capitalize on his opportunity with the Guardians outside of two big postseason home runs. He should be back after the All-Star Break (part of the reason why the Guardians placed Thomas on the injured list when they did was so he could get some additional break before all of baseball takes a week off), which means he’ll have about two weeks to repair some of his trade value. 

Not only has Ángel Martínez has played well in center field since Thomas went on the injured list, but trading him could also open up a spot for top prospect Chase DeLauter.