Cleveland Guardians Must Target This Future Hall of Fame Pitcher

The Cleveland Guardians should strongly consider targeting this future Hall of Fame pitcher.

Oct 15, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; A Cleveland Guardians helmet and glove before game three of the NLDS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field. / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians have experienced an awful collapse in recent weeks and are in danger of losing their lead in the American League Central division race.

Hopefully, they'll be able to turn things around with the postseason coming up quickly, but their slide has opened a lot of eyes to major needs for the upcoming offseason.

One of those needs will be improving their starting pitching staff.

Obviously, the hope is that Shane Bieber is back and healthy. His presence alone would have helped the team immensely. However, the Guardians should also consider adding another elite starter alongside Bieber to turn their rotation into a strength.

Keeping that in mind, Cleveland has never been a big spender in free agency. With the team being so close to World Series contention, the front office should consider changing that.

Justin Verlander is a name that the Guardians should strongly consider pursuing.

Heading into the offseason, Verlander will be able to test the free agency market. Many believe that he will end up back with the Houston Astros, but he's not getting any younger and would likely be open to pitches from teams that can offer him a better chance to a win a championship.

Cleveland could absolutely be a team that gives him an upgraded chance to win another World Series.

During the 2024 MLB season thus far with the Astros, Verlander has been dealing with some major nagging injury issues. He has made 12 starts, going 3-4 with a 4.16 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, a 3.2 K/BB ratio, and 67.0 innings pitched.

Those numbers may not look great, but for the Guardians it just helps his price range potentially make more sense.

A fully healthy Verlander would be a huge addition for Cleveland. On a one-year deal with a potential second year included or a club option, he would be well worth picking up.

No, the Guardians would not be getting prime Verlander who could power the team's rotation. They would be getting the version of Verlander who could be a quality No. 2 or No. 3 arm in the rotation and could be an impact piece towards helping the team compete.

There will be quite a few teams with interest in adding Verlander this offseason. Cleveland should be one of them.

Along with what the Guardians would get on the field from him, he would bring valuable experience and leadership. Those two qualities are things that the team is clearly missing down the stretch this year.