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Phillies Could be 'Frustrated' With Guardians Amid Trade Negotiations

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matthew Sullivan | Last updated Jul 17, 2025 1:17 PM ET

The Philadelphia Phillies are looking for two positions at the MLB trade deadline: a reliever and an outfielder. While the team would ideally land a right-handed hitting outfielder, any upgrade would be welcome.

There's one team in baseball that would have two options for the Phillies at the deadline, who they've been linked to multiple times. That team is the Cleveland Guardians.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic revealed in a recent article that the Guardians are frustrating opposing teams amid their disciplined trade talks. With the Phillies' interest in the Guardians players, the Phillies could be one of those teams getting frustrated.

"The other element is that the Guardians are extremely disciplined in trade talks," Rosenthal writes, "Often frustrating potential partners."

The Phillies have been linked to Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase and left fielder Steven Kwan. Both would be great additions for the Phillies, but based on this report, it seems like the Phillies and Dave Dombrowski could be getting frustrated with the Guardians front office.

Landing Kwan would cost a lot, but he'd be an instant difference maker in the lineup. Same goes for Clase, who'd become the team's new closer. Philadelphia has some intriguing prospects to make a deal work as well.

But, based on this report from Rosenthal, the Guardians are being stingy in their trade talks and have been frustrating teams.

With the Phillies interested in two of the top trade chips in Cleveland, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Phillies were one of those teams getting frustrated with the Guardians in trade talks.

While other options are on the market, Kwan and Clase would be ideal trade deadline additions for the Phillies. But, it doesn't seem likely, as the Guardians are playing hardball in trade negotiations, and in turn, potentially frustrating the Phillies.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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