Guardians recent trade misfires look even worse due to team’s lack of pitching depth

On Monday, Guardians pitching prospect Khal Stephen had a successful right ulnar collateral ligament repair. While it’s not as invasive as the full Tommy John surgery, Stephen is still expected to be out for the next 10-12 months. 

While an injury to a pitcher of Stephen’s pedigree would be a huge blow to the Guardians no matter what, it stands out even more right now given the Guardians’ stark lack of pitching depth outside of their big league rotation. 

And there are a variety of reasons for that lack of depth, ranging from injuries to Luis Ortiz’s suspension. But perhaps the biggest reason has been due to Cleveland’s trades over the past couple years (one of which was the deal that initially brought Stephen to Cleveland). 

The Guardians have traded a ton of their pitching depth in recent years

The two biggest trades that sucked away Cleveland’s pitching depth came in 2024 when Cleveland traded left-handed pitching prospect Alex Clemmey to the Washington Nationals in their deal for Lane Thomas along with trading fellow left-hander Jacob Bresnahan to the Giants for Alex Cobb. (H/T to The Athletic’s Zack Mesiel for answering a question about the team’s pitching depth in his latest mailbag). 

While neither of them have made their big league debut (Clemmey is in Double-A and Bresnahan is in High-A), both of them would likely be shooting through Cleveland’s minor league system had they not been traded. 

Another misfire was Cleveland’s decision to trade for Luis Ortiz, though it only became a misfire after he got wrapped up into Emmanuel Clase’s alleged pitch betting ring. 

Ortiz had a 4.36 ERA in 88 2/3 innings with the Guardians last season prior to going on the restricted list, and was still arbitration eligible prior to going on the restricted list. 

The Guardians traded for him thinking he’d be a part of their rotation for the next half-decade, but he lasted just half a season. That suspension moved everyone up a rung on the trust tree, and the bill is finally coming due. 

But even with Ortiz out of the picture, the Guardians still decided to trade Shane Bieber to the Blue Jays at the trade deadline last year in exchange for Stephen, who was pitching in Double-A. 

He made 12 starts at that same level with the Guardians this year prior to going under the knife. Although he was still a level away from reaching the big leagues, he still had an outside shot at making his big league debut thanks to Cleveland’s lack of pitching depth. 

Stephen’s injury means that Logan Allen, Austin Peterson or Yorman Gómez could be called upon if a member of Cleveland’s rotation needs to miss a start. That’s not a good place to be. 

Now, it’s not like the Guardians knew they were going to lose Ortiz to the restricted list or that Stephen or fellow prospect Justin Campbell were going to suffer injuries. 

But they also mortgaged a bit of their pitching future in some trades, and didn’t get a ton out of it (though Thomas’ run in the 2024 postseason will go down in history). 

Now the ramifications from all those moves may mean that they’re going to have to add to their pitching depth this trade deadline as opposed to trading from it. That could be quite a change.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow