The Guardians perused but failed to acquire key outfielders so far

The Cleveland Guardians missed out on Joc Pederson and Jesse Winker

The Cleveland Guardians are striking out this offseason when it comes to finding some outfield help. As opposed to past years where the Guards sat on their hands, this year the club is actively trying to land help to bolster the corners at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. It’s just not working out for the club this time around. The team has failed in their pursuits of Joc Pederson and Jesse Winker, with Pederson signing with San Francisco and Winker getting traded to the Mariners.

This confirms earlier rumors that said the Guardians were trying to sign an outfielder and trade for another. There’s no reason to suggest that’s not still the active plan, but it’s just not going to be Pederson and Winker.

Both men would’ve made the Guardians outfield it’s most consistent it’s been in years. They would’ve been paired with Myles Straw, the future lead-off hitter, and center fielder, and that would’ve been one robust trio.

The Cleveland Guardians are not looking good in the outfield

Right now Straw is the only real option the Guardians have, but apparently, Terry Francona intends on rolling out Bradley Zimmer, Oscar Mercado, rookie prospect Steven Kwan, and shortstop Amed Rosario.

Rosario played fine defensively when he was in the outfield but he fell off at the plate. He started to make a marketed improvement when he became the primary player at the position. Zimmer is a bust, and no amount of late-career magic is going to change that. Mercado has struggled at the plate in his career, and Kwan is a top prospect but prospects don’t always pan out.

Kwan is the best option for potential, however. He’s hit .320 combined across all three levels of the minors and college. He’s never had a season where he hasn’t hit .300 at any level, and the last time he did was when he was a freshman in high school. He’s 24, which means for nine years he’s never known what’s it like to finish a year with a “2” at the start of his batting average.

He’s not a power hitter and that’s an issue. He’s only hit 19 home runs in that nine-year span, so expect a lot of droop singles and shots down the baseline; with the occasional double thrown in there.