Grading The Cleveland Guardians' Trade Deadline Moves

The Cleveland Guardians made a pair of moves before the MLB trade deadline, so let's break down how they did.

Sep 11, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb (38) throws a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians made a couple of moves at the MLB trade deadline, acquiring outfielder Lane Thomas in a deal with the Washington Nationals and striking a pact with the San Francisco Giants to land starting pitcher Alex Cobb (who has not yet pitched in 2024).

The Guardians needed another bat in their lineup and also desperately needed a starting pitcher, and they were able to swing trades on both fronts prior to Tuesday's deadline.

Let's dive into both trades and see how Cleveland did.

Lane Thomas

The Guardians traded three prospects for Thomas: left-handed pitcher Alex Clemmey and infielders Jose Tena and Rafael Ramirez.

While Tena has certainly shown some promise with his .846 OPS at Triple-A Columbus this season, Clemmey is unquestionably the top prospect who went to the Nationals in this trade.

Cleveland selected Clemmey in the second round of the MLB Draft last year and have touted him pretty highly. While he has a 4.67 ERA in Single-A ball this year, he has also registered 97 strikeouts over 69.1 innings, so the stuff is there.

However, given how much of a seller's market this was, the Guardians had no choice but to part with something of real significance, and Clemmey ended up being the victim.

Thomas is definitely an upgrade for Cleveland offensively, although he isn't exactly a world-beater. He is slashing .253/.331/.407 with eight home runs and 40 RBI over 341 plate appearances in 2024 while adding 28 stolen bases.

Last season, Thomas smashed 28 homers, but that seems like more of a fluke than anything else. Two years ago, he hit 17 long balls, which seems more in line with his typical potential.

It would have been nice if the Guardians added a bat with a little bit more consistent pop than Thomas, but again, the trade market was pretty thin.

At least Cleveland did something to address its offense, which ranks a pedestrian 14th in OPS.

Grade: B-

Alex Cobb

The Guardians' search for starting pitching did not go very well.

Cleveland was rumored to be in the hunt for names like Garrett Crochet, Erick Fedde and Jack Flaherty. Instead, it settled for a guy who hasn't thrown a single pitch this season.

Cobb has been sidelined due to hip surgery, not to mention some shoulder issues he experienced during his rehab in the spring.

The 36-year-old was nearing his return, but a blister has pushed it back even further.

Cleveland sent lefty pitcher Jacob Bresnahan and a player to be named later to the Giants in exchange for Cobb, so it's not like the Guardians gave up a whole lot.

Cleveland selected Bresnahan in the 13th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. Through 15 starts in the Guardians' minor-league system, the 19-year-old has gone 1-4 with a 3.00 ERA.

Obviously, Bresnahan is light years away from reaching the major-league level, so we won't truly know what type of prospect he is for quite some time. But Cleveland did not have to part with any of its notable farmhands in the Cobb trade.

When healthy, Cobb is a solid arm. As a matter of fact, he made the All-Star team last year, going 7-7 with a 3.87 ERA. He allowed 163 hits while recording 131 punchouts across 151.1 frames. He was actually a bit better in 2022, when he went 7-8 with a 3.73 ERA and 2.80 FIP.

The veteran has bounced around quite a bit throughout his big-league career, as the Guardians will represent his fifth team. He owns a lifetime 3.85 ERA.

So, how much does Cobb really help the Guardians' rotation? Well, we won't really know until he actually gets healthy, will we?

Given how expensive some of the other pitchers on the trade market were (the Miami Marlins landed two top prospects for Trevor Rogers, for example), Cleveland may have felt it had no other choice but to explore a low-risk, potentially high-reward option like Cobb.

At least the price tag wasn't huge.

Grade: C

How did the Guardians do overall?

Again, I like the move for Thomas. The Guardians needed a bat, and they found one. There weren't many great options available, so Cleveland settled for what was left.

Perhaps youngsters Jhonkensy Noel and Angel Martinez will continue to provide the Guardians' offense with a nice lift into the dog days of summer, because Thomas on his own is not really a significant needle-mover.

Jesse Winker actually may have represented a better get for Cleveland, but the New York Mets scooped him up over the weekend.

The real issue here, though, is the Guardians' failure to acquire a legitimate pitcher for their starting rotation.

Look: I get that Cobb is a nice arm when he is healthy, but the man has not thrown a single pitch in 2024 and has experienced multiple setbacks.

There were absolutely more dependable arms available, and it just feels like Cleveland did not want to pay the price.

It's on brand for a Guardians organization that is known for being ultra-conservative, but with Cleveland so close to contending for a World Series this year, you would have hoped the front office would have gone the extra mile to ensure that the Guardians were prepared for October.

I guess Cleveland is banking on a really strong last couple of months from Gavin Williams, who recently returned to the rotation. And maybe Carlos Carrasco can turn back the clock a bit (he was enjoying a nice stretch before getting rocked in his last couple of starts).

All of that being said, this deadline feels like a miss for the Guardians. They didn't bolster their lineup that much, and depending on whether or not Cobb returns, they may not have improved their starting pitching at all.

Overall grade: C