The Cleveland Guardians make a trade deadline decision on a 2.33 ERA reliever.
The Cleveland Guardians are in the middle of a solid stretch of games, rebounding from a rough June. While they remain three games back in the wild card, the Guardians aren't projected to be major sellers like they once were.
With under a week until the MLB trade deadline, MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today provided an update on the Guardians' plans. While they've received interest in their relievers, Nightengale's update all but shuts down a potential trade of Cade Smith.
"The Cleveland Guardians have no interest in trading reliever Cade Smith." Nightengale wrote.
Smith, at 26 years old and under team control through 2029 for fairly cheap, would be a highly sought-after asset at the deadline. His 2.33 career ERA through two seasons is impressive and would draw interest from plenty of teams.
However, he's not going anywhere based on this report from Nightengale. Cleveland, with this report, decided that it intends to keep the young reliever amid his strong back-to-back seasons.
MORE: MLB insider reveals Guardians' trade demands for Steven Kwan
In 2024, Smith had a 1.91 ERA in 74 games across 75.1 innings with 103 strikeouts and one home run allowed. He also walked just 17 batters all season and had an overall incredible year for the Guardians.
This season, while not as dominant, Smith has still been strong. He has a 3.02 ERA in 46 appearances across 44.2 innings pitched with 65 strikeouts and 17 walks allowed. He's allowed two home runs this season and has a 1.187 WHIP.
While a step back from his dominant 2024, Smith is still one of the better relievers in the game, and if he were on the trade block, he'd net a very strong return. But the Guardians aren't moving him, as they've decided to keep Smith through the trade deadline.
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