The Guardians have the kind of setup that makes trade-board dreaming feel realistic. They’ve got a young core locked in for years, a farm system with real buzz, and a payroll that leaves room to absorb veteran money. After getting to Game 6 of the ALCS against a legitimate contender, Cleveland has a path to push harder if it wants to turn a good team into something more dangerous.
That’s the backdrop for a list of offseason targets that could help the Guardians in different ways, whether the goal is adding a middle-of-the-order bat, shoring up the infield, or bringing in another arm for the rotation. The idea here isn’t to map out exact trade packages. It’s about the names and why they fit.
At shortstop, Zach Neto stands out as a right-handed hitter with a career 113 wRC+ and 12.0 fWAR across about 3.5 seasons with the Angels. He’s got three years of arbitration left, so he wouldn’t be cheap, but the offensive profile is loud.
In 2026, he posted an 11.9 Barrel % and turned in his third straight 20/20 season. The glove is the concern, since his range at short has been well below average, but the bat would go a long way toward covering that up.
CJ Abrams brings a different flavor. He’s fresh off a career year at the plate and posted his first 30/30 season in 2026.
He was one homer short of four straight 20/20 seasons in 2025 and two homers short in 2023, and he’s stolen more than 30 bases in each of those years. His 124 wRC+ in 2026 was a jump from the 105 and 104 marks he put up in the previous two seasons.
He’s not as strong defensively as Neto, but if the 2026 version is the real one, he’d fit nicely in the middle of Cleveland’s lineup. He also has two years of arbitration left.
Jeremy Peña is the most experienced shortstop of the group and is in the final arbitration year of his rookie contract. Over his last two seasons, he’s posted a 136 wRC+ and a 124 wRC+, with .800 OPS marks both years.
The home run totals aren’t eye-popping, and he missed almost 90 games across those two seasons, but the offense has been strong. Defensively, he’s below average at short, though the bat would still make him a worthwhile target if he can stay on the field.
First base offers a couple of interesting options too. Alec Burleson has two years of arbitration remaining and is coming off back-to-back seasons with a 124 wRC+ or better.
He played in 160 games in 2026, so durability is part of the appeal. He’s a left-handed hitter who struggles against lefties, but he does real damage against right-handed pitching, and Cleveland could use every bit of power it can find.
He was also a well above average defensive first baseman in 2026.
Spencer Steer is another two-year arbitration player, and while he’s listed here at first base, he’s been used all over the field for the Reds. He doesn’t bring the same defensive versatility as Daniel Schneemann, but he does offer a similar kind of flexibility.
His biggest offensive calling card is his work against lefties. In 2026, he posted a 188 wRC+ versus LHP.
His career splits are more modest - 128 wRC+ against lefties and 97 against righties - but both are playable, and there’s enough there to make him useful even outside his best matchup.
In the outfield, Brandon Marsh is coming off a down year. After posting wRC+ marks of 124, 106, and 115 over the previous three seasons, he dipped to 90 in 2026.
Like Burleson, he’s a left-handed hitter who has had trouble against left-handed pitching. He’s also in the final year of arbitration.
The upside is that he has already shown he can be a solid contributor, and he was a strong defender before 2026. If he gets back to the 2023-2025 version of himself, he could help.
Wyatt Langford is probably the priciest name on the list, but he also might be the most attractive. He still has three years of arbitration left, which gives any acquiring team a lot of control.
Even with injuries popping up throughout the season, he nearly posted a second straight 20/20 year and finished 2026 with a 115 wRC+, right in line with his career norm. He has a career 126 wRC+ against lefties and 111 against righties, so the bat plays against both sides, and he’s also a plus defender in the outfield.
On the pitching side, Reid Detmers put together a career season in 2026 and has two arbitration years left. He threw 185 innings with a 3.36 ERA, a 3.01 FIP, 211 strikeouts, and just 48 walks. If the Angels are truly open to more reasonable deals, he’d be one of the better starting pitching names to chase.
Logan Gilbert is another arm worth watching. Seattle is in a strange spot, with the roster not quite where it wants to be and several offensive pieces headed toward free agency.
Gilbert is on the final year of his contract, and while his 2026 season was a little below his usual standard, 186 innings, a 3.73 ERA, and 205 strikeouts still make for a very strong profile. He’d fit well alongside an already solid Guardians rotation.
None of this guarantees Cleveland goes big. But if the front office wants to take a real swing, the opportunity is there. The core is young, the talent is in place, and the window is open enough to justify being aggressive.
In Other News...
Guardians Have One Prospect Who Could Change Their 2027 Lineup
The Guardians are heading into 2027 with the kind of young talent pipeline that can keep a contender from fading, and Ralphy Velazquez sits near the center of that conversation. After a strong 2026 season built in part on rookie production, Cleveland is looking at prospects who could help carry that momentum forward, and Velazquez has already put together the sort of minor league offensive showing that makes evaluators believe he can bring real power to the lineup.
Jaison Chourio and Khal Stephen are in the mix as well, giving the organization more than one avenue to keep refreshing the roster. Chourio could end up fighting for an outfield job, while Stephen is viewed as a pitching prospect with real upside, but Velazquez is the name that stands out as the one most likely to alter how the Guardians construct their everyday offense when 2027 arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Pitching Duo Just Earned Recognition For Clevelands October Run
Gavin Williams and Cade Smith just added another line to a postseason run that already put them in the spotlight, earning spots on MLBs All-Postseason team for their work in the 2026 playoffs. For Cleveland, it was a fitting nod to a pair of arms that carried a heavy load when the games mattered most, with Williams setting the pace as one of the most dominant starters in the field and Smith handling leverage innings out of the bullpen.
Williams led all postseason pitchers with 33 strikeouts while working to a 2.30 ERA over 15.2 innings, and Smith was nearly as sharp in relief with a 2.38 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 11.1 innings. The recognition underscores how much the Guardians leaned on both pitchers during October, and it also serves as a reminder that Clevelands playoff push was built as much on pitching depth as on any one breakout moment. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Keep Running Into The Same Problem Contenders Can't Ignore
The Guardians keep finding themselves in the same conversation every time the front office looks for a way to bridge the gap between a good roster and a true contender: pitching costs money, and good pitching costs a lot of it. The discussion around the club has centered on how Cleveland handles its pitching decisions, whether it can realistically add through trades, and how its payroll constraints stack up against teams that can simply spend past problems instead of working around them.
There is also a bigger layer hanging over all of it, one that reaches beyond this season and into the next round of MLB labor talks. Younger players stand to be affected if the league and union end up back at the bargaining table, especially if the conversation turns toward a salary cap or an owners push for a lockout if no agreement is reached. For a team like Cleveland, which has to be precise with every dollar, the outcome of those negotiations could shape the way it competes for years. [Read more 🡒]