Cleveland Guardians expected to be aggressive at trade deadline

The MLB trade deadline is a little over a month away, and it appears the approach of the Cleveland Guardians will be music to the ears of the fanbase.

Making an appearance on ESPN Cleveland's The Really Big Show, The Athletic's and Selby Is Godcast co-host Zack Meisel provided some insight into how he expects the deadline to be handled. Meisel states he believes the team will be aggressive, much like how they were in 2016.

Having an approach similar to that of 2016 is the absolutely perfect way that Cleveland's front office should handle this trade deadline. Like 2016, this is a very young team that is growing in confidence as the season progresses and is looking to make a deep postseason run that very few thought they were capable of. The team's contention window is open now and it is an absolute must to capitalize on something that can close so quickly.

2016 saw the team round out its roster and get prepared for their playoff run, acquiring Andrew Miller, Brandon Guyer, and Coco Crisp via trade. The team had an agreement in place to acquire catcher Jonathan Lucroy from the Milwaukee Brewers. That deal would fall through after he refused to waive his partial no-trade clause. This aggressive process at the deadline was nearly enough to get Cleveland to their ultimate goal, almost capturing their first World Series title since 1948.

2024's team is in a situation where they have prospects that have a blocked path to the big leagues and could be of interest to a team looking to restock their farm system. Expect the Guardians to be aggressive in their quest to fix some very notable problem areas, such as their starting rotation, shortstop, and outfield. Acquiring at least two starting caliber players in these areas is an absolute must, as it could very well make the difference between another run to the World Series and being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The good news here is that it sounds like they are going to do whatever it takes to make that push rather than settling for a playoff appearance and nothing more.