Jeff Passan highlights three Guardians veterans who could be on the trade block

In 2024, Lane Thomas came over to the Guardians at the trade deadline and hit two huge postseason home runs on the Guardians' quest toward the American League Championship Series.

A year later, could he be on the way out? 

On Tuesday, MLB Insider Jeff Passan put out an early trade deadline preview, where he highlighted what teams seem to be planning as we’re a month and a half away from the trade deadline. 

And his information about the Guardians said a lot.

Jeff Passan highlights three Guardians veterans who could be on the trade block

In his article, Passan mentioned Carlos Santana, Lane Thomas and Jacob Junis as players who could be on the move if the Guardians regress. 

How the Guardians remain well over .500 is a fact other front offices discuss with amazement. Their starting rotation, still without Shane Bieber, is just OK. Their lineup is Swiss cheese. Their defense is middle of the pack. And yet they persist, pesky as ever, buoyed by a bullpen that's been fine enough but nothing like last year,” Passan wrote. 

The Guardians are no strangers to trading away veteran players at the deadline if they feel like they aren’t going to be able to compete.

In 2023, they traded Amed Rosario, Aaron Civale and Josh Bell at the deadline despite being one game behind the Twins in the American League Central. 

While those trades resulted in the Guardians getting no-hit the next night and Chris Antonetti needing to fly down to meet with the team, the early results have been wins thanks to their acquisition of Kyle Manzardo. 

A trade of Thomas or Santana could likely result in the same feeling of frustration in the clubhouse. Thomas was the prize of last year’s trade deadline and hit two huge postseason home runs for the club, but he’s only hit .186 across 70 games with the club over the past two years. 

He missed nearly a month at the beginning of the year after being hit by a pitch on his right wrist, and is currently on the injured list due to plantar fasciitis. 

He’s an impending free agent so there could be some value in trading him at the deadline (especially if the Guardians feel they wouldn’t be able to re-sign him in free agency), but winning teams add impact players at the deadline, not get rid of them. 

The same can be said for Santana. He’s turned the clock back this year and been a rock in the middle of Cleveland’s lineup, and is also on a one-year deal. He’s no stranger to being dealt at the trade deadline, but he’s the kind of player who you should look to add at the deadline, not trade away. 

The last player mentioned was Junis, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he was traded. The Guardians signed Junis to a one–year, $4.5 million contract in the offseason after he had a strong season with the Reds, but he’s had a bit of an up-and-down season. 

He didn’t allow an earned run until his 10th appearance this year, but he posted a 7.11 ERA in 11 games in May. The Guardians always seem to deal away a couple of fringe major leaguers at the deadline (regardless of whether they’re a buyer or seller), and a trade of Junis would fit into that theme. 

He’s in the 81st percentile in walk rate but the second percentile in expected batting average. 

The trade deadline picture is still pretty hazy, but it looks like the Guardians could end up impacting the deadline in a plethora of ways.