Is An Amed Rosario Trade Back On The Table For The Guardians?

It didn't feel like the Cleveland Guardians were going to trade Amed Rosario at the beginning of the offseason. However, recent events around baseball may have changed that.

Here we go again.

I thought I was done writing about a potential Amed Rosario trade until at least the 2023 trade deadline. But here we are just a few weeks before Spring Training gets underway and it's a topic that's worth discussing. 

So, let's dive into it. 

We all know the type of player Rosario is at this point. He has a streaky bat that when hot can be one of the best in the lineup and arguably baseball. Rosario also leaves something to be desired on defense but could be much more of a liability than he is. 

He's a good baseball player. There's no argument there. But the young prospects the Guardians have in their system and the potential impact they can provide leave Rosario in an awkward spot.

Rosario and Cleveland splitting up is inevitable if the Guardians hold on to all of their infield prospects. This breakup has the potential of coming to reality sooner than later based on other events that have happened around baseball.

First things first, where could Rosario go in a trade? 

The Boston Red Sox finished at the basement of AL East in 2022. That's a position that the organization is not used to being in and they'll do whatever it takes to get out of it as quickly as possible. 

However, their homegrown shortstop in Xander Bogarts decided to leave for San Diego in free agency. That's definitely disappointing for that fan base, but there was a solution. Just side Trevor Story who is a natural short stop over to the left side of the infield in Bogarts' place. 

That was the plan before Boston admitted that they aren't expecting Story to play this season due to him needing surgery on his right elbow at the beginning of January. 

Right now the Red Sox's project second baseman is Enrique Hernandez. He's a fine player but to start at arguably the most important position on the field for a full season seems a little too far-fetched. 

There's no way the Red Sox want to finish last in their division in consecutive years. A logical would be to acquire a short-term solution such as Rosario to play the position in 2023. Then they could evaluate the situation again when Story is ready to come back in 2024.

Next question, what could the Guardians get in return for Rosario?

This has been a question a lot of fans have been asking themselves for a while. The offensive stats are good, but there still is that defensive concern. He also only has one more year on his contract. We may be able to look at a recent trade to give us a glimpse at what a deal could look like.

In early January, the Marlins traded their shortstop Miguel Rojas who is on a one-year deal to the Dodgers for their 14th-ranked prospect. As of now, Rojas is only projected to be a utility piece for the Dodgers and the Marlins got a top-20 prospect in return.

The Guardians would be wild if they didn't ask for at least that if Rosario ends up being an everyday player in a potential deal.

I'll admit I've been on team Rosario playing out his contract, which still seems to be the most likely scenario. But if a team such as the Red Sox gets desperate and tart offering highly-ranked prospects in return then the Guardians should absolutely make a move. 

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