Cleveland Guardians Linked To Trade For National League Pitcher

The Guardians desperately need help with their starting rotation, and they could turn to the Colorado Rockies for answers.

Jul 6, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Austin Gomber (26) in the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians may own the best record in the American League, but it's clear that they could use some roster upgrades between now and the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

The main area in which the Guardians vastly need to improve is their starting rotation.

Cleveland has already sent two of its starting pitchers to the minors, demoting both Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen. Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively have been the only reliable starting arms for the Guardians, which spells big trouble as the dog days of summer approach.

As a result, Cleveland is expected to be heavy in the market for starting pitching in the coming weeks, although whether or not the Guardians will actually be able to land anyone of significance remains to be seen.

Taking that into consideration, Cleveland may have to scrounge around for back-half-of-the-rotation starters, especially taking into account that the price for someone like Garrett Crochet will surely be beyond exorbitant.

Sticking with that theme, R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports has linked the Guardians to Colorado Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber.

Gomber is an interesting candidate, because he excels where pitchers like McKenzie and Allen have struggled: throwing strikes.

The 30-year-old owns a 2.3 BB/9 this season, which would be the second-best mark in Cleveland's starting rotation behind Bibee.

Overall, Gomber has gone 2-5 with a 4.47 ERA in 2024, allowing 98 hits while registering 62 strikeouts over 94.2 innings of work. The odd thing about Gomber is that he has actually pitched better at Coors Field, boasting a 3.54 ERA in Denver and a 5.44 ERA on the road.

The lefty began his big-league career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018 before ultimately being traded to the Rockies in the deal that sent Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals in February 2021.

Gomber owns a lifetime 4.83 ERA and 1.368 WHIP.

Those numbers certainly aren't pretty, but at least Gomber doesn't really walk guys and has been markedly better than McKenzie and Allen this season.