Blockbuster trade proposal puts Guardians in position for deep postseason run

The Cleveland Guardians are clearly in position to make some acquisitions at the upcoming trade deadline, and one recent suggestion has them being part of a three-team blockbuster that would shake up the American League.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller has the Guardians agreeing to a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros that would have major ramifications for this year's postseason race in the recently published 8 Outrageous Trades to Shake Up the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline.

Cleveland would receive Bo Bichette, Yusei Kikuchi, Danny Jansen, and Colin Barber, with Barber being the only non-Blue Jay coming to the Guardians. Going to Houston would be Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Chris Bassitt, Kevin Kiermaier, and Parker Messick, with Messick being Cleveland's contribution here. The Blue Jays would be going through a bit of an organization reset here by getting Cristian Javier, Chase DeLauter, Jacob Melton, Brice Matthews, Daniel Espino, and Jake Bloss.

This is a big-time deal that would instantly help the Guardians make a run deep into the postseason. Trading away prospects is never easy, but when a team clearly is in their contention window and is in need of proven major league talent, it becomes a bit more palatable to do so. Is there a chance that DeLauter and Espino become the players everyone believes they can be? Sure, but that may not happen for a few years, and the Guardians need help now if they are going to truly contend.

Even though Bichette's numbers at the plate have been underwhelming in 2024, what he has been able to do in previous seasoons shows that there is a chance he could rebound in a big way and put up a stat line that neither Gabriel Arias or Brayan Rocchio are capable of. Getting improved offensive output from the shorstop position would go a long way for Cleveland's chances come playoff time.

Meanwhile, Kikuchi would help solidify and stabilize the starting rotation, as they are in clear need of some help. Cleveland has played the majority of the season without Shane Bieber, and they just optioned Triston McKenzie to Triple-A in an attempt to fix his command issues. Acquiring Kikuchi would help make up for the loss of Bieber and put less pressure on McKenzie to figure things out while allowing them to have someone else to turn to in the event his struggles continue.

The only real thing to nitpick here would be the inclusion of Danny Jansen. Cleveland currently has three players capable of playing the catcher position in Bo Naylor, Austin Hedges, and David Fry. Unless the Guardians found themselves without the services of one or more of these three names, it is hard to understand why they would be looking to acquire Jansen unless they were going to try and immediately flip him to improve another area of their roster.

As intriguing as it would be for the Guardians to be involved in this type of deal, it does not seem all that likely to happen, at least how it is currently constructed. It is not about the players being moved by the Guardians that would be the biggest obstacle. It would be the acquisitions of Bichette and Kikuchi. It is probably best to expect the Guardians to make a trade for a starting pitcher and shortstop in separate deals rather than trying to get it all done at once. But who knows, anything can happen at the deadline, including a blockbuster trade such as this one.