Jo Adell has golden opportunity to reshape Guardians post-Kenny Lofton legacy of No. 7 in Cleveland

For parts of 10 seasons, Kenny Lofton starred for the Cleveland Indians. He was there at the beginning when they turned into an American League powerhouse in the 1990s, and he was there at the end in 2007 when they came oh so close to making it to the World Series. (He was literally there. Thanks, Joel Skinner.)

And the one thing that remained the same throughout Lofton’s time with Cleveland was the No. 7 on his back, which quickly became synonymous with his incredible brand of baseball. 

That hasn’t been the case in the time since, however. While 15 players have worn No. 7 for Cleveland since Lofton retired following the 2007 season, it’s mostly been a revolving door of journeyman players and disappointing prospects. 

But that could change soon thanks to the presence of Jo Adell, who became the latest Guardian to wear No. 7 thanks to Cleveland’s trade for him at this year’s deadline. 

So, with that in mind, we decided to take a look at all the players who have worn No. 7 since Lofton left.

Jo Adell could turn around the Guardians’ recent history with No. 7

The prospects who didn’t pan out
Matt LaPorta (2009-2012) and George Valera (2026) 

The Guardians acquired LaPorta as the main piece in their trade of C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers in the hopes that he’d be the team’s next superstar, but that distinction ended up going to Michael Brantley, who was the player to be named later in the trade. 

Instead, LaPorta only recorded four below-average seasons with Cleveland, which was the only MLB action of his career. 

Valera made his MLB last year wearing No. 35 before switching to No. 7 this year. His time with the number didn’t last long, as he played in just 13 games with the Guardians before being designated for assignment. 

He’s still in Triple-A Columbus so there’s a chance he could return to the Guardians’ roster at some point. He just won’t be wearing No. 7 when it happens. 

‘Wait, he played for Cleveland?’
Jamey Carroll (2008), Mark DeRosa (2009), Matt Carson (2013), John McDonald (2013), Collin Cowgill (2016), Ryan Flaherty (2019), Eric Stamets (2019) and Will Wilson (2025) 

What a list of ballplayers. Carroll was the first player to wear No. 7 after Lofton retired, and his tenure with the number lasted one year before DeRosa took it. McDonald then wore it for his eight-game stint with Cleveland in 2013 before Carson took it at the end of the season. 

He was wearing it when he recorded a walk-off hit against the Astros late in that season as Cleveland tried to lock down a Wild Card spot. 

Then it was a lot of one month's wonders in Cowgill (nine games), Stamets (15 games) and Flaherty (15 games). All those stints were the final big league appearances of their careers. 

Lastly there’s Wilson, who somehow spent most of last season on the Guardians’ roster despite not doing much of anything. 

This group combined for 2.7 bWAR while wearing No. 7. 

The multi-year guys
David Murphy (2014-2015) and Yan Gomes (2017-2018) 

Murphy was one of the numerous players who had forgettable tenures for the Guardians in the dead period between 2013 and 2016. 

He played in 129 games with Cleveland in 2014 before turning things around halfway through 2015. The Guardians traded him to the Angels that deadline in exchange for Stamets, who had his rough 15 game tenure with Cleveland four years later while wearing the same number. 

The brotherhood of the traveling No. 7. 

Then there’s Gomes, who changed his number from 10 to accommodate the addition of Edwin Encarnación He made an immediate impact in 2017 and picked up a walk-off hit against the Yankees in the 2017 postseason before being an All-Star in 2018. 

He ended up winning a World Series with the Nationals in 2019 and retired after the 2024 season. 

At least they were golden
César Hernández (2020-2021), Myles Straw (2021-2024)

There’s a bit of irony in Hernández’s tenure with Cleveland since his best year came in front of no fans during the 2020 season. 

That year, Hernández slashed .283/.355/.408 with 20 doubles and a Gold Glove win. He got his chance to play in front of Progressive Field’s finest in the first half of 2021 before being traded to the White Sox at the deadline. 

His number was immediately taken by Straw, who was added from the Astros. The start of his Guardians tenure got off to a hot start when he signed a five-year, $25 million contract along with winning a Gold Glove in 2022, but he was DFA’d after the 2023 season. 

He’s been a quality player for the Blue Jays the past two seasons (while wearing No. 3). 

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