Guardians stand pat at trade deadline, send down Reyes

Terry Francona spoiled the drama a little after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when he told reporters that he didn't think the Guardians would make any trades before the Major League Baseball trade deadline. The Guardians manager was correct, as Cleveland wasn't involved in any last-minute deals ahead of the 6 p.m deadline. The lack of maneuvering was a bit unexpected considering the Guardians' (53-49) positioning just one game behind the Minnesota Twins (54-48) in the American League Central Division. This is also a front office that has shown it will make moves at the deadline. There was plenty of speculation about what Cleveland would do. Established players such as Amed Rosario and Franmil Reyes were possible trade chips to contenders. On the flip side, the Guardians also have a surplus of middle-infield prospects that could've been used to get big league talent. An obvious area of need was catcher. Reports suggested that both the Cubs' Willson Contreras and Oakland's Sean Murphy were available, but neither was traded Tuesday. The Guardians actually shipped out veteran catcher Sandy Leon earlier Tuesday to Minnesota in the only trade made by Cleveland. The Twins sent back right-handed reliever Ian Hamilton, who has pitched 15 major league games with a 4.91 ERA. Any upgrades Cleveland will get between now and the postseason will have to come internally. The Guardians called up outfielder Will Benson on Monday, and he made his major league debut off the bench. Benson can also play first base and possesses big power and a discerning eye at the plate. Cleveland also activated outfielder Oscar Gonzalez off the Injured List on Tuesday, which resulted in the demotion of the scuffling Reyes to Triple-A Columbus. Infielders Gabriel Arias and Tyler Freeman, along with outfielders Alex Call and Richie Palacios, could play roles in the big leagues down the stretch. And starting pitcher Aaron Civale (wrist) could return from the IL. Some of the AL Central was active. The Twins showed they're going for it by acquiring starting pitcher Tyler Mahle from the Reds and relief pitchers Jorge Lopez from the Orioles and Michael Fulmer from the Tigers. Right before the deadline, the Royals traded away veteran Whit Merrifield to the Blue Jays. Ironically, Merrifield couldn't play on Kansas City's July road trip to Toronto because he was unvaccinated. The assumption is that Merrifield has addressed his vaccination status to play in Canada. One player who didn't move Tuesday was Tigers left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin, a former star in the Firelands Conference at Western Reserve. With Detroit out of contention, Chafin seemed like an obvious candidate to be dealt. But he does have another year on his deal, so he's in line to remain with the Tigers in 2023. Detroit had already gotten in on the action a bit early Monday when it traded away outfielder Robbie Grossman for a pitching prospect. The White Sox, who entered the season with high expectations but entered Tuesday's action at 51-51, didn't make a trade on deadline day. They did send away catcher Reese McGuire to the Red Sox for lefty reliever Jake Diekman on Monday. There is no longer a second waivers-required trade deadline, so Cleveland's next chance to make a trade will come in the offseason.