Chris Antonetti Reveals Cleveland Guardians Trade Deadline Plans

Chris Antonetti says the Cleveland Guardians will be engaged on multiple fronts leading up to the MLB trade deadline.

Nov 10, 2023; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, right, talks to the media as president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti looks on during an introductory press conference at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The MLB trade deadline is quickly approaching and it’s still unclear which teams will be buyers and sellers. 

One team that will certainly be looking to upgrade anywhere they can is the Cleveland Guardians and Chris Antonetti all but confirmed that in a recent interview with Jon Heyman of the New York Post. 

Antonetti laid out the Guardians’ trade deadline plan as he candidly discussed the roster's state and needs. 

Understanding Cleveland’s plan for the trade deadline starts with their most recent free agent signing of LHP Matthew Boyd. Antonetti touched on what they’re hoping to get from their newest southpaw as the season moves on.

“Our starting rotation is the place where we’ve been the most inconsistent,” said Antonetti. “It was one of the reasons why we signed Matt Boyd recently. Matt’s a guy that’s recovering from Tommy John surgery. We think he’s going to be able to impact us at some point in August. So, it was through the lens that we decided to bring Matt in and we’re fortunate we were able to align with that.”

Guardians Chris Antonetti talks here about how they’ll approach deadline. He answers why he didn’t come to Mets and more in full cast. Joel, I debate what both NY teams need

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— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 3, 2024

Yes, the Guardians need more starting pitching, but so does over half of the league and Antonetti is fully aware of that. (This could be why Cleveland chose to sign Boyd when they did.)

“Although we are looking for starting pitching, we anticipate it being a very tight market to try to acquire that. Especially as you start to look at how many teams are still contending and we anticipate being in the mix at the end of the month. It might be very difficult and very costly to acquire starting pitching.”

Pitching may be the biggest need, but Antonetti says that the Guardians will also explore options to upgrade their line up as well. 

“That’ll be an area we continue to look as well as if there are opportunities to improve on the offensive side or elsewhere, we’ll be engaged in those fronts too.”

Cleveland may not have made any moves yet, but it certainly sounds like they be active over the next month.