Guardians Urged To Pursue Yankees Slugger

The Cleveland Guardians are being pressed to sign this New York Yankees slugger in free agency.

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo (48) walks in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

While starting pitching is clearly the Cleveland Guardians' primary need, it's also very obvious that the Guardians require some bats.

Cleveland's offense was maddeningly inconsistent throughout the season, and it became abundantly clear that it need some more pop.

The Guardians aren't known for spending a ton of money in free agency, so they will have to make shrewd, careful decisions during the offseason.

Well, James Mastrucci of Away Back Gone has identified an affordable possibility for Cleveland: New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

"Even though Rizzo is 35 years old and the past two seasons have been a bit of a struggle, having someone with his experience for [Kyle] Manzardo to lean on and help him get used to being a lineup regular," Mastrucci wrote. "And of course, there is the benefit of having Rizzo's bat in the lineup which can still be useful, even if it is not on a regular basis for much longer."

Rizzo is certainly not a reliable everyday player anymore, as evidenced by the fact that he slashed just .228/.301/.335 with eight home runs and 35 RBI over 375 plate appearances in 2024.

However, the veteran would still provide some nice balance to a Guardians lineup that could use all of the help it can get.

And again, Cleveland is likely not going to be actively pursuing the top free-agent hitters on the market. It may have to settle for reclamation projects like Rizzo and hope that one of them ends up working out.

Rizzo can almost certainly be had on a cheap one-year deal.