I’m Afraid The Guardians Stink And Are Going To Be Big Time Sellers At The Deadline

Well folks, the Guardians finally finished the job. After losing 2 of 3 from the Yankees....and losing 2 of 3 from the Astros....and losing 2 of 3 from the Reds....we finally said enough is enough of this edging bullshit, and we got our asses fully swept by the Mariners. There's no other way to put it: this team is playing BAD baseball. And I know we're not even halfway through the season, and I know we are still 35 and 35, and I know we're only a game out of the Wild Card spot in the playoffs.....but if I'm being honest, we stink.

I think we all saw this coming, whether we said it out loud on Opening Day or not. How could this team not regress from last season? We had perhaps the best bullpen in baseball history in 2024, which the front office clearly banked on just being able to run it back....but better?....in 2025. Because we made no moves elsewhere to make the team any better. Actually, we allowed our team to get worse. Andres Gimenez, Josh Naylor and Myles Straw all traded. Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb not re-signed. And we knew Shane Bieber was out until at least June. All while making big free agent signings like....Carlos Santana? And that's it. So how in the world were we expecting to contend this season? We actively got worse and let it happen.

So as the trade deadline approaches, I'm afraid that we're going to do what teams that aren't contenders do, and that's get rid of their good players to try and get better in the future. Don't let the "one game out of the playoffs" fool you. This is the AL Wild Card picture and I'd venture to say the Guardians, as currently constructed, have as bad of chance as any to come out of this.

So now who gets traded? I think Carlos Santana is a given. His contract expires at the end of the season, he's hitting well, and a team would love to add him to their lineup for the playoff stretch. My guess would be Junis, Sewald, and Lane Thomas are all off to somewhere else, too. But the point of this blog is because of what I'm really afraid of, and that's these three names: Steven Kwan, Emmanuel Clase, and Cade Smith.

Please God don't fold on these three. I get that it's a very slim to none chance that we resign Kwan when his contract expires in 2028, but that's three years away! I would rather have 3 years of this guy leading off and being a consistent menace in the lineup than get a bunch of lottery tickets now. The same goes for both Cade and Clase. I know everyone needs bullpen help. I'm sure we could get a return for them. But Clase is locked up until '29 and Cade Smith is not eligible for free agency until 2030! 

My point is that if we would've just made some moves in the off-season, this team could be good right now. No shit we're bad, we didn't do anything! But don't send away 3 players that we have for multiple years to come just because your lazy, poor asses didn't make any splashes this offseason. Don't do that to the fans.