3 important post-trade deadline questions for the Cleveland Guardians

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The MLB Trade Deadline is in the books, and the Cleveland Guardians are ready to continue their impressive season and make a run into the postseason. But now that deadline is behind them, three important questions need to be asked about the current state of their roster.

1. Do they have enough starting pitching?

This is the most obvious question, so it will be tackled first here. The Guardians have managed to have the best record in baseball up to this point despite having a rotation that is very much suspect. Sure, Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively have carried them thus far, but the rest of their rotation leaves a lot to be desired. Gavin Williams is still working on regaining his form while Carlos Carrasco has been very much hit or miss this season.

Now, it must be said that the Guardians went out and traded for Alex Cobb from the San Francisco Giantsin an effort tobolster their rotation. But is adding Cobb and hoping that the free agent signing of Matthew Boydgoingto be enough? Cleveland could also bring back one or both of Triston McKenzie or Logan Allen from Triple-A Columbus, but there was a reason they were sent there in the first place and it is not a good one. Cleveland has to hope that their current pitching options will be enough because if not, it will only make those who questioned their inability to acquire someone besides Cobb grow loud in their frustration.

2. Should they have brought in another shortstop?

By now, everyone is very well aware of the Cleveland Guardians' issues at shortstop. They have tried just about every option available to them this season, and nobody has proven capable of taking the job and running with it. Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio, Daniel Schneemann, and Tyler Freeman have all seen time at short this season, with mixed results being the most positive thing that can be said about those contributions. Now that begs the question, should the Guardians have traded for a shortstop instead of continuing to roll with this current group?

Nobody can say with absolute certainty as to whether or not they attempted to acquire a shortstop, and there is a very good chance they at least put a feeler call out to a team or two. With that being said, they are still down to the options they had before the trade deadline, and those are not very appealing.

While many have been quite vocal about Andres Gimenez moving to shortstop, that is not something that has been considered by Cleveland. In fact, there have been zero conversations with Gimenez about a position change, and if that was something they wanted to attempt, it would be best suited for the offseason rather than having their Platinum Glove-winning second baseman change positions at this point in the season. But for now, the Guardians are stuck with their current options, for better or for worse.

3. Will they have enough offense to compete with the league's best in October?

This was the one question about this Guardians team coming into the season that is still very much applicable today. Do they have enough offense?

While they have been able to improve upon last year's disappointing showing at the plate, it still sort of feels like they are at least one step behind a few teams when it comes to offensive production. This is still a team that is carried by the likes of Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Josh Naylor. There is nothing wrong with being led by this trio offensively, as the issue has been and could continue to be the production of those around them.

In an effort to help Cleveland's supporting cast, the Guardians acquired outfielder Lane Thomas from the Washington Nationals. Thomas is by no means a star but should help bring up the below-average offensive production this team has seen from a few outfielders this season. This, in addition to the continued contributions of David Fry, Jhonkensy Noel, and Angel Martinez, as well as the potential return of Kyle Manzardo, should help Cleveland's cause when it comes time for October. The only real concern with this group is whether or not the playoff atmosphere will be too much for some of these players lacking experience, but only time will tell if that turns out to be the case.

1. Do they have enough starting pitching?

2. Should they have brought in another shortstop?

3. Will they have enough offense to compete with the league's best in October?

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