Guardians trade deadline grades, analysis | Cleveland adds Lane Thomas, Alex Cobb

DETROIT — The first-place Guardians entered the trade deadline with two key initiatives: extend the lineup with a hitter (at least one) and bolster an inconsistent starting rotation with another pitcher.

They addressed one need and might have addressed the second. Now they'll move forward with this group as they try to a turn a surprisingly successful first half of the season into a louder-than-anticipated run to October.

The Guardians completed two deals ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, first acquiring outfielder Lane Thomas from the Washington Nationals and then starting pitcher Alex Cobb from the San Francisco Giants . Between the two trades, the Guardians sent four prospects with a player-to-be-named later in the Cobb deal. All four are from positions of relative surplus in their minor league ranks (lower level pitching and middle infield).

Guardians trade grade, Lane Thomas: B+

If there's one thing the Guardians know when it comes to how teams will approach their lineup, it's that they're gonna see as many left-handed pitchers as possible. It recently happened with the Detroit Tigers, who lined up lefties out of the All-Star break to attack Cleveland's lineup.

The Guardians have four regulars in the lineup who hit left-handed (Steven Kwan, Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez and Bo Naylor), along with key prospects Travis Bazzana — who they just took No. 1 overall , but is someone who could have a quick path to the majors — Chase DeLauter ( No. 1-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline ), Kyle Manzardo (No. 2) and George Valera (No. 7).

Enter Thomas and his .922 OPS against southpaws . He and David Fry will help to alleviate that imbalance, along with the switch-hitters in the order (Jose Ramirez, Angel Martinez, Brayan Rocchio) and a few other righties (Jhonkensy Noel, Tyler Freeman).

The Guardians also have continued their seemingly endless search for consistent offensive production from any outfielder not named "Kwan, Steven." The Guardians are 18th in wRC+ in center field and 21st in right field , meaning they've received below-league-average value at both spots this season.

It's been like that for a while now, even dating back to the Michael Brantley days. Left field has been an elite-contact gold mine for Cleveland. The rest of the outfield has been a near-constant search that was supposed to be alleviated by Myles Straw (perhaps not in offensive value, but overall performance including his defense).

Noel has a metric ton of power, but the Guardians need to see his contact and chase rates improve before he can be trusted with an everyday spot in the lineup. Will Brennan, who was optioned to Triple-A Columbus to make room for Thomas, was stuck in an extended slump after being given plenty of runway to secure his role.

For the other names on the list, the Guardians must allow them to progress through their minor league system. Thomas is under club control via arbitration through next season, so he's a 1.5-year answer for the moment. In the short run, he and Fry, especially, can help offset pitching plans that aim to attack Kwan and Naylor as key lefties in the top four of the Guardians lineup.

Guardians trade grade, Alex Cobb: C+

Navigating the starting pitching market as a contender this July seemed to resemble punching a hornet's nest covered in honey.

In anticipation of a rising asking prices due to an extreme seller's market, the Guardians signed Matthew Boyd , who is coming off Tommy John surgery. More than anything, Boyd simply adds another depth option, considering he has a career 4.94 ERA and is still rehabbing from his procedure.

Cobb is like an upgraded Boyd. He was an All-Star with the San Francisco Giants last season, but he wasn't nearly as sharp in the second half and then needed hip surgery last October. He was aiming for a return in May before a shoulder issue popped up. And, recently, he was dealing with a blister, which has again caused a setback in his potential return date.

Cobb hasn't pitched in 2024, but once he's healthy he has a reasonable chance of adding a stable starter to a rotation that craves anything resembling consistency to join Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively . One bright spot for Cleveland is that Gavin Williams looked great Tuesday and appears to be on the right track after missing the first few months of the season on the injured list.

Still, the Guardians need to find a rotation of five pitchers to complement the game's best bullpen.

Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen, in Triple-A, are both options at any point, but the former is still struggling to find his command the latter recently didn't record a strikeout in a Triple-A game. Other options are Joey Cantillo and Xzavion Curry, who are unproven. And there's Carlos Carrasco , who might be nearing the end of his return with the Guardians unless things turn around soon.

And, now, there's Cobb, at least once he's healthy.

Trading for Cobb was perhaps a reasonable way to address their pitching situation without breaking the bank for a starter elsewhere. And while the Guardians were in a position to be as aggressive as they wanted given their standing in the American League, their patient, even-keeled approach has led to a level of consistent success few other teams have seen since 2013.

There is an argument to be made they should have broken the bank for a larger deal, but it'd also be difficult to argue with their general operating procedures given their placement among smaller-market teams. And it's often an easier argument when only one side of negotiations are known.

Guardians 2024 trade deadline grade: B-

Doing nothing would have been a disaster. Thomas is an outfielder who fits well, and Cobb is another question mark as a starting pitcher, but one with a solid track record. The Guardians could have perhaps added a shortstop with Rocchio struggling to gain traction in the majors or another hitter almost anywhere to take over the DH spot (and maybe even add yet another right-handed hitter).

Then again, the number of high-level position players dealt was relatively low. Thomas was a near-perfect fit with his splits and speed. Cobb leaves the pitching side of things with a bit more uncertainty in terms of how much the roster was improved but, at the very least, the Guardians added another needed option down the stretch run.

The Guardians front office has shown a willingness to get super aggressive at the right times . That means opportunity and price. In 2016, they found both with the Andrew Miller and Brandon Guyer deals (and it would have included Jonathan Lucroy had he not vetoed the deal). They also made key late-season additions that included Brad Hand, Josh Donaldson, Jay Bruce, Franmil Reyes and others between 2017-19.

There was an avenue to strike a third or even a fourth deal, but it always takes two to tango when making a trade, and it's fair to note how this market was a bit different than that of trade deadlines in the recent past.

The Guardians have operated with an eye on the present and the future for quite some time. Now, they move forward with an elite bullpen, a more balanced lineup and still a few question marks they hope can be be addressed with their youth.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians trade deadline grades, analysis | Cleveland adds Lane Thomas, Alex Cobb