Guardians agree to deal to trade Amed Rosario

After months of speculation, the time has come, the Cleveland Guardians have traded Amed Rosario. Cleveland has agreed to a deal that will send Rosario to the Los Angeles Dodgers pending a physical. ESPN's Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers first reported that a deal was in the works while Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic confirmed that the deal has been agreed to. Cleveland will receive pitcher Noah Syndergaard in exchange in a former Met-for-Met swap per multiple reports.

Looking back at Wednesday's 8-3 win over Kansas City, the absence of Rosario in Cleveland's lineup makes a bit more sense. Even though it was the final game of the homestand before heading to Chicago, the framework for this deal could have been in place and this could have been the Guardians making sure that nothing happened to Rosario in the contest.

Rosario has been a solid player for the Guardians since coming over as a part of the deal that sent Francisco Lindor to the New York Mets. As a Guardian, Rosario slashed .278/.314/.397 with 70 doubles, 25 home runs, and 21 triples.

When it comes to Rosario it is not necessarily an issue of talent or ability. It is very apparent that Rosario is a floor-raiser type player and not a ceiling raiser and with the present state of the Guardians that is a hard type of player to continue to roster. Being in relatively no man's land in terms of the trade deadline only makes things more complicated in the grand scheme of things.

This deal with Los Angeles is clearly rooted in the Guardians' front office knowing that Rosario does not have a future in Cleveland beyond this season. There are several middle infield prospects who need to see the field so they can be properly evaluated. The two notable names with the major league club currently are Gabriel Arias and Tyler Freeman, but Brayan Rocchio is knocking on the door down in Triple-A Columbus and he will get his shot sooner rather than later. The removal of Rosario from locker room seems to indicate that soon is going to be coming a bit faster than some may have anticipated.