Guardians fans will be reminded of trades (both good and bad) during Blue Jays series

While there are plenty of former Guardians floating around the other 29 teams in MLB, the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays are the modern-day final boss when it comes to Guardians connections. 

In most cases, the Guardians run into one or two former players during a series against another team. But, when it comes to the Blue Jays, the Guardians are going to be facing off against a roster that has four active players with former Guardians connections (Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez, Myles Straw and Nathan Lukes) along with one injured former Guardian in the form of Shane Bieber. 

It’s an interesting mix of players who serve as a tangible reminder of some of the Guardians’ biggest wheeling and dealing in recent years. 

The Guardians have made plenty of trades with the Blue Jays in recent years

The former Guardian with the biggest name on the Blue Jays is Giménez, who the Guardians signed to a seven-year, $106 million contract in spring training in 2023 before trading him away less than two years later. 

That contract extension came on the back of a fantastic 2022 season where Giménez slashed .297/.371/.466 with 17 home runs and 69 RBI while playing his trademark Gold Glove defense. 

And while that defense stuck throughout his time with the Guardians (and is still there), his bat was never able to catch up. 

After struggling in his first season in Toronto due to a variety of injuries, he’s been a bit better this year, though he’s entering play today with an on-base percentage of just .297. 

Even though Giménez has struggled, this trade still isn’t a complete win for the Guardians given the main part of their return for him was Luis Ortiz, who will likely never pitch in MLB again. 

That said, the Guardians were able to get out from under Giménez’s (self-inflicted) anchor of a contract along with acquiring minor league pitcher Josh Hartle, so it’s not all bad. 

The Straw trade is another trade that hasn’t been the clear win that we all assumed it would be. The Guardians signed Straw to an extension after acquiring him at the trade deadline in 2021, but it quickly became clear that he wasn’t a viable everyday option thanks to his anemic offense. 

They outrighted him off their roster in 2024 before trading him to the Blue Jays that offseason along with $2 million in international bonus pool money. The Blue Jays wanted some more money in their coffers in their pursuit for Roki Sasaki, and the Guardians were happy to oblique so long as they took Straw with him. 

But Straw’s actually been a productive player with the Blue Jays, in large part because they finally figured out how to use him. 

Instead of having him be an everyday option, he’s found a niche as a fourth outfielder/defensive replacement. It seemed like he was always up at the plate with the game on the line during his time with the Guardians. Now he’s a fan favorite who always seems to save the day. 

Not only was he worth 2.7 bWAR last year, but he’s hitting .323 this year in 31 at-bats. All while the Guardians are still footing some of the bill for his contract. 

Although the Guardians didn’t trade Clement to the Blue Jays, he’s still an example of someone who got away. Cleveland outrighted him off their roster at the end of 2022, and he promptly signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays that following offseason. 

He’s had an absolutely star turn since, and is coming off a postseason run where he recorded a record-setting 30 hits. 

Although it’s not a guarantee that would have happened in Cleveland, it still stings. 

Outfielder Nathan Lukes also has a Guardians connection given he started his career in Cleveland’s minor league system before being traded to Tampa Bay as a part of the Brandon Guyer trade, but that happened more than 10 years ago. 

While the Guardians’ trade of Bieber was a huge deal at the time, he won’t make any impact in this series since he’s still recovering from right elbow inflammation. 

Still, there’s no denying this current Blue Jays team is filled with vestigates of the Guardians’ past. But now the Guardians of the present will be doing everything in their power to beat them.

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