Ramifications of a possible Shane Bieber deal

As I've laid out in a previous rambling, the time to trade Shane Bieber is likely now. Again, I'd love it if Shane stuck around a bit longer, but I highly doubt it happens. Furthermore, dealing Bieber is probably the easiest way to acquire additional reinforcements in solidifying the lineup.

As such, there would be some degree of fallout with current players should a move occur. And operating under the notion that the Guardians should target a power hitting right fielder, there will be some players who find themselves either in a diminished role or no longer with the team.

Two players immediately come to mind if this hypothetical trade does occur, Gabriel Arias and Will Brennan, as they both primarily man right field most games. But upon further consideration, Myles Straw may be affected by such a trade as well.

Dating back to May 16, Brennan has appeared in 24 games (21 starts) and has really began to find himself at the plate slashing .346/.376/.531. During this period he's also hit six doubles and three homeruns while driving in nine and only striking out 11 times in 85 plate appearances. Meanwhile during this same stretch, Myles Straw - who has admittedly improved, has only slashed .244/.309/.349 with 7 XBH, 2 RBI, while striking out 21 times in 94 plate appearances. As far as Arias is concerned, six of his 14 hits have gone for extra-bases over that same period. However, Arias' 25.6 strikeout percentage is just higher than Straw's (22.3) and nearly twice that of Brennan's (12.9).

In a lineup devoid of much thump, limiting the number of hitters who provide next to no home run potential is appealing. Now is Brennan going to hit 20-25 homeruns a season? Highly unlikely. But in less than 200 at-bats, Brennan has already matched Straw's career homerun output (5). Brennan also provides adequate defense, albeit not at a Gold Glove level, but his offense more than makes up for it.

Replacing Straw in the everyday lineup and eventually Amed Rosario, as well as Mike Zunino - we may be on the doorstep of having an everyday lineup comprised of players who OPS+ is at least nearing 100. Again this is all hypothetical and assumes that other replacements would perform better than the current usual suspects.

Here's to keeping the dream alive that the front office shakes some things up in the coming weeks!