5 position players the Cleveland Guardians should target at the trade deadline

2. Taylor Ward - Los Angeles Angels

When it comes to potential additions that the Cleveland Guardians could make at the MLB Trade Deadline, working a deal for Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward should be near the top of the list.

With 56 doubles and 51 home runs in his last three seasons, Ward has shown that he is more than capable of being a complementary power threat in the outfield. This is something that would go a long way for the current composition of the Guardians' outfield. The recent power developments from Steven Kwan have been encouraging, but he cannot be counted on alone to be the lone everyday outfielder to have some sort of power in his bat, it is simply not part of his hitting profile right now. Someday? Maybe, but not right now.

Anyway, back to Ward. His .740 OPS right now would be the fifth-highest of qualified Guardians hitters and only behind Kwan's ridiculous .956 among Cleveland's outfield. While not necessarily a prototypical power bat, being better than Tyler Freeman's .656 and Will Brennan's .730 is definitely something worth taking note of.

So far, the Guardians have been able to make things work with a mix-and-match group in the outfield. While that has gone their way up to this point, it is hard to buy into the sustainability of that approach. Adding someone like Ward into the mix would allow the Guardians to have more than one everyday outfielder etched in stone while allowing the other utility players to move around the diamond as needed.

3. Jazz Chisholm Jr. - Miami Marlins

Admittedly, this is a bit of a pipe dream. and this is mostly rooted in the report from the Miami Herald's Craig Mish that the chances of a potential trade of Jazz Chisholm Jr. are growing. There are very few opportunities for a team to acquire a player of Chisholm Jr.'s caliber and contract status (two arbitration-eligible years remaining after 2024), and both should be of interest to the Cleveland Guardians. 

Chisholm Jr. is going to catch the eye of just about every team looking to add should he actually be made available for trade, but that does not mean the Guardians should bow out of a bidding war if one were to take place. Cleveland is clearly in a spot on their competitive timeline which indicates they should be making aggressive moves at the deadline in order to make a deep postseason run, and making a trade for someone like Chisholm Jr. would certainly qualify as aggressive.

From a glance, Chisholm Jr.'s numbers this season are not spectacular, slashing .255/.326/.407 with 12 doubles, 10 home runs, and a 102 OPS+. However, there is a difference between having to be The Guy in Miami, compared to the third or most likely fourth guy in Cleveland. The rest of the roster is the primary difference between the two ballclubs, and a better group around Chisholm Jr. in Cleveland could very well result in his statistical performance at the plate improving dramatically.

4. Brent Rooker - Oakland Athletics

Of the players featured in this list, Oakland Athletics outfielder/designated hitter Brent Rooker seems the most likely candidate to be traded and Cleveland should definitely be interested.

Oakland has been the team that many have identified as the carcass that contending teams will pick apart like vultures for quite some time. They are not a competitive ballclub, have a few intriguing trade pieces, and are more than likely going to shed any type of future salary owed, considering their less-than-optimal stadium situation moving forward. This is exactly the time that a team like the Guardians should swoop in and make a deal for Rooker.

Unlike a few other options mentioned previously, Rooker has the ability to be the masher the Guardians have been looking for. Since landing in Oakland, Rooker has 48 home runs and 35 doubles in 214 games over two seasons. Keep in mind, this is on a very non-competitive A's team that has 84 wins dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season. Imagine what Rooker would be capable of doing alongside the likes of Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Josh Naylor. Rooker would be able to put up video game-esque numbers from a power perspective with multiple quality bats alongside him in the lineup rather than the offensively-challenged group out in Oakland.

5. Jesse Winker - Washington Nationals

There was a time when Jesse Winker looked to be a middle-of-the-order mainstay for years to come. Coming off a 32-double and 24-homer campaign with a .305/.394/.556 slash line for the Cincinnati Reds during the 2021 season. Since then, Winker's career has gotten off track. The following two years saw Winker struggle, putting up an average season with the Seattle Mariners before bottoming out with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023. The good news is that Winker has seemed to rebound in Washington and has become a possible trade piece for the Nationals.

Through 87 games, Winker has a .267/.383/.437 slash line with 17 doubles and 10 home runs, while his 138 OPS+ is just under the 143 mark he posted in 2021. Even though he is not putting up the same type of season as he did during his final year in Cincinnati, it is definitely close enough that a contending team could take a chance on the soon-to-be free agent.

If the Guardians were to acquire Winker, it would provide a nice offensive boost to their current outfield group. It would also allow them to have another everyday outfielder not named Steven Kwan, something that would help stabilize the lineup on a daily basis rather than having multiple positional timeshares. Of course, this would need to be one of multiple moves made by the front office to solidify their lineup, but it would definitely be one worth making for the Guardians.