The Guardians have made the kind of move their fans have been clamoring for, landing Angels outfielder Jo Adell in a deal that sends minor league catcher Jacob Cozart to Los Angeles, according to multiple insiders.
It’s a swap that fits the moment for Cleveland. The Angels had already signaled they were ready to sell when they traded José Soriano to the Toronto Blue Jays earlier today, and that set the stage for Adell to come off the board.
Adell brings the one thing the Guardians have been searching for: real right-handed pop. He’s hitting .239 with an on-base percentage under .290, and he has been worth -3 Outs Above Average, so this isn’t a clean, polished profile.
But the power is loud. He has 16 home runs this season and 76 since the start of 2024, which is exactly the kind of punch Cleveland’s lineup has been missing.
The Guardians have seen that power up close. In May, Adell opened the series with an RBI double, then followed it by robbing Angel Martínez of a home run the next day.
That connection matters, because Martínez may be the player most affected by the trade. He has been Cleveland’s primary right fielder this year when healthy, but his numbers have been rough, with an on-base percentage of just .260 and a 2-for-23 stretch since returning from the injured list. Adell has his flaws, but the Guardians clearly decided he’s at least an upgrade there.
The split that likely pushed this deal across the finish line is what Adell does against left-handed pitching. He has a .910 OPS against lefties this season and a .793 OPS against southpaws in his career.
That’s a big deal for a Guardians offense that has combined for a 86 wRC+ against left-handers this year, along with a .222 batting average. In that sense, Adell looks like a direct answer to a very specific problem.
There are obvious tradeoffs. Adell has a career strikeout rate of 28.8%, and he can be shaky in the outfield, even if he also flashed the kind of athleticism that led to those three home run robberies in a game against the Mariners earlier this year.
Cleveland also gets him with control beyond this season, so this isn’t just a rental for a short push.
The cost was Cozart, whom MLB Pipeline ranked as the No. 18 prospect in the Guardians’ system. He’s been at Double-A this season and hit .714 in his slashline, but he was squeezed out of the catching mix by Patrick Bailey, Austin Hedges and Cooper Ingle.
In the end, Cleveland used its depth to go after a clear need. Adell isn’t a perfect fit, but he gives the Guardians the offense they’ve been begging for.
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Guardians Finally Found The Right-Handed Bat This Lineup Needed
The Guardians spent the winter looking for a better fit on the right side of the plate, and they found one in Jo Adell. Cleveland brought in the right-handed hitting outfielder from the Angels in a move aimed squarely at adding some much-needed thump to a lineup that has wanted more home run power, especially against left-handed pitching.
For the Guardians, it also comes at a time when the roster has been built with an eye toward keeping options open beyond this season. Adell brings the kind of pop that can change the shape of a game, and the price tag speaks to Clevelands belief that this is the sort of swing worth making. Now the interesting part is how quickly the bat can translate into everyday value in a lineup that has been searching for exactly this kind of offense. [Read more 🡒]