Cleveland Baseball Insider

Guardians Predicted to Make Shocking In-Season Trade

Could the Cleveland Guardians really make this stunning trade during the 2025 MLB season?

Matthew Schmidt

Oct 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) reacts in the ninth inning against the New York Yankees during game four of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) reacts in the ninth inning against the New York Yankees during game four of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images / David Dermer-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Cleveland Guardians are an organization that is certainly known for swinging big trades, but not the type their fan base typically likes.

Case in point, the Guardians traded a pair of All-Stars during the offseason, jettisoning both second baseman Andres Gimenez and first baseman Josh Naylor to save some cash.

Could Cleveland do it again with another All-Star player in 2025? Gabe Goudy of The Big Factor thinks so, noting that Emmanuel Clase is one of the few players on the team who have already earned a contract extension and could be on the chopping block as a result.

"Who else on the team got paid? Clase," Goudy said. "Trade him. ... He got money, so what happens when our players get money?"

Now, to be fair, Clase is on an incredibly team-friendly deal. He is making just $4.9 million this season and is slated to earn $6 million in 2026. He then has $10 million club options for 2027 and 2028.

Would the Guardians really trade such dominant relief pitcher when he is really only making pennies in compared to some of the other top closers in baseball?

Well, maybe. It is Cleveland, after all, and Clase's trade value is immensely high at the moment. He posted a minuscule 0.61 ERA and led the majors with 47 saves last season, representing the third straight year he paced the bigs in saves.

Clase isn't your prototypical closer in that he doesn't register a ton of strikeouts, but he has tremendous control and logged a 0.659 WHIP in 2024. So, yeah; he's tough to hit.

The Guardians probably won't be moving Clase, but if they fall out of contention by the trade deadline, anything is a possibility.

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage

MORE: Guardians Earn Unfavorable Position In Recent MLB Power Rankings

MORE: Guardians Make Surprising Roster Move With Starting Pitcher

MORE: Guardians Pitching Prospect Shines During MLB's Spring Breakout

MORE: Analyst Identifies Guardians Biggest Upcoming Roster Decision

MORE: Jose Ramirez Could Make Major Change With Guardians This Season

Published
Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

Home/News