Cleveland Indians Acquired Brandon Guyer From Tampa

The Cleveland Indians acquired an outfielder prior to the MLB trade deadline, but he is likely not the player fans were expecting or hoping for.

Heading into today, the possibility of the Cleveland Indians acquiring a bat was very realistic. No, they did not make a deal for now Texas Rangers outfielder Carlos Beltran or New York Mets outfielder Jay Bruce, but they add depth to the position.

Cleveland ended up trading for outfielder Brandon Guyer from the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa was thought of as a team that could possibly trade multiple players who were non-pitchers.

However, that did not happen. In return, the Cleveland Indians gave up two minor leaguers in outfielder Nathan Lukes and right-handed pitcher Jhonleider Salinas.

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The price to pay was, understandably, not to the extend the Tribe gave up for left-handed pitcher Andrew Miller. Guyer is not that exciting name who could be a difference maker. On the other hand, he is an improvement for the lineup against left handers.

Hopefully, Guyer can maintain his success against lefties as a member of the Cleveland Indians. As fans know, that was an area that could be improved upon. Still, is Guyer the best Cleveland could get to add to the outfield?

Apparently he is, even though there were and still are players that would have been a better fit. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig comes to mind. I understand he has not performed well this season, but he is only 25 years old! If he could have a new change of scenery, Puig has the potential to be a superstar.

With the addition of Guyer, changes had to be moved on the Cleveland Indians roster. Utiltyman Jose Ramirez now appears to be the everyday third baseman as Jose Uribe‘s time with the Tribe is over.

To make room for Brandon Guyer the Indians have DFA'd Juan Uribe. This probably means Jose Ramirez will move to 3B.
— paul hoynes (@hoynsie) August 1, 2016

Simply put, Guyer is the newest Marlon Byrd (without the suspensions). In fact, right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall still has yet to show that he can provide the consistent production to be counted on regularly. He is better suited in a platoon role at best.