Should The Guardians Explore A Trade For Juan Soto?

A baseball writer and former MLB executive believes that the Guardians are a team to watch if the Padres make Soto available this offseason.

When Cleveland Guardians fans think of a recent power hitter in their outfield, names such as Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore come to mind. However, they last played for Cleveland in 2015 and 2011, respectively.

Nowadays, the Guardians’ outfield has centered on contact hitting. For reference, Cleveland’s primary 2023 outfield of Steven Kwan, Myles Straw, and Will Brennan hit a total of .258 with 11 home runs in 443 combined games.

With the Guardians’ abundance of starting pitching, should the team explore a trade for a power-hitting outfielder?

In a recent article from The Athletic, baseball writer and former MLB executive Jim Bowden wrote that the Guardians are one of five teams to watch if the San Diego Padres try to move All-Star outfielder Juan Soto this offseason.

Sep 30, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Chicago White Sox during the second inning at Guaranteed Rate Field / © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

In part, Bowden writes:

“The Guardians could potentially swap their ace, Shane Bieber, and left fielder Steven Kwan for Soto. Bieber is also a free agent after next year and could help the Padres fill the void left by [Blake] Snell in their rotation and Kwan, a Gold Glove Award winner, would give them improved defense in left field and another high on-base percentage player for the top of the lineup. Of course, from a Guardians standpoint, if they aren’t in the race come July, they could always turn around and deal Soto at the trade deadline.”

The soon-to-be 25-year-old Soto has been one of MLB’s premier hitting outfielders. Through his first six seasons, he has 162-game averages of a .284 batting average, 33 home runs, 100 RBI, and 31 doubles.

Trading for Soto would instantly give Cleveland their most complete outfield hitter since Michael Brantley.

If the Padres make Soto available at the upcoming Winter Meetings, Cleveland fans will have to see if the Guardians try to acquire him.