Guardians should target former failed first-round pick (who’s now surging) at trade deadline

In June 2016, the Philadelphia Phillies took Mickey Moniak with the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft in the hopes that he’d become the next franchise icon.

That didn’t end up being the case, however, as Moniak appeared in just 47 games with the Phillies before being flipped to the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline in 2022. 

While Moniak hasn’t become the kind of franchise player you’d expect out of the No. 1 pick, he’s turned into a serviceable outfield option who could be a cheap addition to Cleveland’s outfield. 

In other words, he’s the kind of player the Guardians desperately need.

Should the Guardians target this former first round pick at the trade deadline?

After being cut loose by the Angels at the end of spring training, Moniak latched on with the Rockies on a one-year, $2 million contract, where he’s slashed .240/.292/.490 with 11 home runs and 27 RBI, which is good for an OPS+ of 107.

It’s a very league-average level of production, but the Guardians would do anything to get league-average production out of their outfield right now. 

Guardians outfielders have combined for a wRC+ of 79 this year, and it gets even worse when you look at the combined wRC+ of their center fielders (64) and right fielders (49). Right now, it’s Steven Kwan in left field and two question marks — but that could change with Moniak. No one’s expecting him to be Babe Ruth, but he can put together a solid at-bat and play average defense. 

While the Rockies are one of the more insular teams in all of baseball, they’ve already made one trade with the Guardians this year and are on-pace to be one of the worst teams in MLB history. Flipping Moniak should be a no-brainer for them, and the Guardians have plenty of mid-tier prospects who could be expendable. 

Moniak’s best season came in 2023 when he posted an .802 OPS with 14 home runs, 47 RBI and 21 doubles. He only played in 29 games with the Phillies in 2020 and ‘21 and was poised to break camp with the team in 2022 before he suffered a hairline fracture on the last day of spring training that kept him out for the first two months of the season. 

Two months after that, he was on his way to Los Angeles in exchange for the ghost of Noah Syndergaard.

Moniak’s an impending free agent, so he wouldn’t be a long-term roadblock to a top prospect like CJ Kayfus or Chase DeLauter but would still be able to fill an obvious hole in Cleveland’s offense. 

Although there may be some better outfield options out there, Moniak would be a perfect low-budget option who could fill the team’s black hole in right field.