Cleveland Guardians Complete Intriguing Trade With AL Opponent

The Cleveland Guardians have made a handful of trades over the last several months, and they just completed another one on Wednesday.

Guardians insider Tim Stebbins has reported that Cleveland has swung a deal to acquire pitcher Matt Festa from the Texas Rangers for cash. He will be assigned to Triple-A Columbus.

Festa pitched in 19 games out of the bullpen between the Rangers and New York Mets last season, going 6-1 with a 5.70 ERA while allowing 21 hits and registering 24 strikeouts over 23.1 innings.

The 32-year-old was originally selected by the Seattle Mariners in the seventh round of the 2016 MLB Draft and made his big-league debut two years later, making eight appearances and one start for the Mariners. He then made 20 relief appearances in 2019, pitching to the tune of a 5.64 ERA.

Festa spent the first six seasons of his major-league career in Seattle, with his most productive campaign coming in 2022 when he logged a 4.17 ERA while surrendering 43 hits and fanning 64 batters across 54 relief frames.

The Brooklyn native owns a lifetime 4.60 over 108 outings, and while that isn't exactly impressive, his 9.7 K/9 rate is a bit intriguing.

The Guardians are typically very knowledgeable when it comes to acquiring pitching, so obviously, they see something in Festa, who may have a chance of seeing some big-league action this season.

Cleveland is 16-13 and sits one-and-a-half games behind the Detroit Tigers for second place in the AL Central. It will take on the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday evening.

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage