A Guardians-Phillies Trade Makes Too Much Sense

The Cleveland Guardians should be interested in trading for Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos.

The hot stove is officially heating up, as GM Meetings wrapped up last week and teams are preparing for the winter meetings in December. 

There's a feeling that the trade market could be even more prevalent than free agency this offseason due to the talent that's available. 

Even Cleveland Guardians GM Mike Chernoff said, "It's always hard to tell this early in an offseason what it's going to be like, but talks are definitely heating up and I expect it to be a really active offseason for sure." 

So, what players could be moved? Which teams may be willing to swap with one another? 

Looking at everything on paper, a trade between the Guardians and the Philadelphia Phillies makes a ton of sense for everyone. 

The Guardians need more pop. They have hit the fewest home runs in baseball over the last two seasons and need to add some power to their offense. 

On the other hand, Philadelphia needs to add more starting pitching to its roster, especially with the uncertain future of Aaron Nola.

Luckily, each team has what the other is searching for, setting up the perfect recipe for a blockbuster trade.

Cleveland's biggest name in trade rumors at the moment is starting pitcher Shane Bieber, who had plenty of trade hype around him earlier in the 2023 season. 

Chernoff said earlier this week that the team expects him to be in the rotation next season, but "we have to be open-minded about any potential trade opportunities on any player." 

Jul 21, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) tags out Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) during the fourth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps a trade for a Phillies slugger is what it would take to leverage Cleveland to move on from their former Cy Young winner. Philadelphia certainly has plenty of power hitters to go around, and they're apparently willing to move on from one of them. 

Reports surfaced last week that the team would be willing to deal Nick Castellanos this offseason due to his "streaky" postseason performance. Castellanos finished the 2023 regular season with a .272 AVG, 29 home runs, and a .787 OPS.

Those numbers certainly sound like a perfect fit for the Guardians.

Yes, theoretically, a trade between these two clubs would be perfect. 

But none of this is to say that it's going to happen. There's a lot more that goes into a trade than what a team has or doesn't have. 

But it has to start somewhere.