Guardians open to trade offers on two key players

December is usually the time of year when trade rumors involving the Cleveland Guardians begin to surface, and this year is no different. As a small market team, the Guardians are forced to make decisions on players that play themselves out of their price range, and once they near free agency, the likelihood of them being dealt increases. The names being mentioned this year are somewhat expected, as it has been reported that the Guardians are willing to listen to offers for Josh Naylor and Lane Thomas, this is per a report from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

Between the two, Rosenthal believes that Thomas would be the easier player for the Guardians to move even with the current state of their outfield. Naylor is the better overall player and more essential to Cleveland's offensive output than Thomas, and he has been with the club for far longer.

"The Guardians are unsettled in center and right, but Thomas might be the easier player to part with, considering he only joined the club at the trade deadline. "

Ken Rosenthal

The reality is that Thomas was only really a full-time outfielder in Cleveland due to Steven Kwan being the only other regular in the group. Jhonkensy Noel, Will Brennan, Angel Martinez, and Tyler Freeman are the other players who saw time in the outfield for the Guardians last year and while some had their moments, these are not full-time outfielders, with Noel probably better off as a DH or at first base when Naylor or Kyle Manzardo are not in the lineup.

Another aspect to the equation that is mentioned by Rosenthal, "Coming off a magical run to the ALCS, the Guardians should be adding to their offense, not subtracting.". This is a very true statement and one that should not be taken lightly. Sure, there are certain financial parameters that the Guardians have to operate in, but if they are going to remain a competitive team in 2025, the best path forward for them to take is to move Thomas and retain Naylor while looking to upgrade the outfield with the money that would have been allocated to Thomas. This would make the most sense for a ballclub that is still within their contention window and give them the opportunity to pick up where they left off in 2024.