Guardians’ trade deadline approach just got flipped on its head due to brutal Shawn Armstrong injury 

Not much went right for the Cleveland Guardians this weekend in their series against the Tampa Bay Rays. They dropped all three games, scored just three runs (all of which came in Friday’s series opener) and just looked pretty lifeless as a team. 

But they added some injury to insult in Saturday’s game when reliever Shawn Armstrong was placed on the injured list with a “pretty significant" calf tear that could keep him out for the rest of the season. 

Although Armstrong hadn’t been the shutdown reliever the Guardians expected him to be at the start of the season (4.9 ERA in 33 innings), he was still a key piece of the Guardians bullpen who was expected to shoulder a heavy load over the team’s stretch run. 

But it took one non-contact injury to remove him from that equation, which could adjust the math the Guardians’ front office has to do before next Monday’s trade deadline. 

Shawn Armstong’s injury means the Guardians need to prioritize getting a reliever at the trade deadline 

Although the Guardians’ offense is still the team’s biggest need, adding another trusted arm to the bullpen mix became a bit more important the moment that Armstrong tried to limp his way back to the Tropicana Field mound. 

Unfortunately for the Guardians’ front office, adding relievers can be a bit of an inexact science given the position’s volatility. We got a perfect example of that last trade deadline when the Mets gave up three prospects for Ryan Helsey, who ended up posting a 7.20 ERA in 20 innings with the Mets. 

While the Guardians already have most of their high-leverage roles set with Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Colin Holderman, Armstrong’s injury showed that you can never have too much pitching. 

The good news for the Guardians is that there are plenty of B-tier free agents who should also be available. 

While they won’t need to worry about outbidding someone for Mason Miller or Josh Hader, the market is filled with guys like Luke Weaver, Riley O’Brien and A.J. Minter who would be available without breaking the bank. 

Will Dion got the initial call-up after Armstrong’s injury, but his value is more in his ability to eat innings more than his ability to get high-leverage outs. Daniel Espino is another internal candidate who could work his way into the high-leverage picture, but he’s in his first full season in nearly four years. He’s far from being a sure thing. 

If anything, Armstrong’s injury could open up more high-leverage opportunities for Franco Aleman, who has a 1.54 ERA in 11 2/3 innings with the Guardians and has been lights out in the minors this season. 

Last week Antonetti told reporters that he and his team were planning on being "aggressive in finding ways to improve."

While it already seemed clear the best use of that agression would be to target a right-handed bat and impact reliever, this weekend’s disastrous series against the Rays showed just how acute those needs are.

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