Guardians Predicted to Swing Mind-Bending Trade With AL Contender

The Cleveland Guardians have actually begun to right the ship after losing 10 games in a row, having won seven of their last eight games to improve to 47-49.

As a result, the Guardians have worked themselves back into the American League playoff picture, and they are currently just four-and-a-half games out of the final Wild Card spot (three in the loss column).

So, is it possible Cleveland could try and swing some deals in order to bolster its postseason chances before the MLB trade deadline?

Mike Axisa of CBS Sports thinks the Guardians actually might get aggressive, but he is predicting them to make an incredibly strange trade before July 31. He has Cleveland sending closer Emmanuel Clase to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Jarren Duran.

"Boston has more good outfielders than outfield spots and the Guardians can spare an end-of-game reliever," Axisa wrote. "I will not predict a one-for-one trade -- I'll say there will be more pieces involved to even things out -- but Clase for Duran will be the meat of it. The Red Sox get a late-inning dominator and clear the way for a Roman Anthony/Ceddanne Rafaela/Wilyer Abreu outfield. The Guardians get 3 ½ years of a power/speed threat who can play center field, which is exactly the kind of player they can never afford in free agency. "

Here's the thing, though: Duran is one of the Red Sox's most important players, even if he is having a down year this season (.753 OPS). Would they really trade him for a reliever? Yes, Boston has Anthony now on the big-league roster, but the Red Sox are also right in the thick of the AL East race.

Meanwhile, the Guardians probably don't want to break up their dynamic bullpen if they are going to attempt to make a playoff run in 2025.

We do see trades like this from time to time, where playoff hopefuls swap players to fill specific needs. But it seems hard to imagine either side agreeing to this deal.

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