MLB Insider Reveals Perfect Trade Deadline Fit for Guardians' Glaring Need at Catcher

A 4-12 record over the Cleveland Guardians' last 16 games has their fans feeling a bit worried. Even with that skid, the Guardians are only 4.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central lead, but it's clear that Cleveland needs to make some changes ahead of the trade deadline to turn things around.

MLB Mark Feinsand has made a list of the top contenders' most glaring needs, listing the Guardians as needing to improve their catcher position. Fortunately, Feinsand has one specific backstop in mind that could help fix Cleveland's woes behind home plate.

Guardians Trade Rumors

Feinsand lists the Chicago Cubs' Willson Contreras as the answer to the Guardians' catcher ones. He cites Cleveland's .505 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), which ranks 27th league-wide, as something that must be improved, which the 30-year-old should have no issue helping with.

Contreras' .890 OPS is the best among all National League catchers and only trails the Toronto Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk (.904) across the Majors. While that's impressive, so is Contreras' work at the plate this season, which includes 13 home runs and 35 RBIs in 71 games.

The two-time MLB All-Star is also one of the best at calling games behind the plate, bringing defense that could help cut down the 4.46 runs per game (No. 21) that the Guardians are giving up this season. Contreras already has 32 assists and six double plays this season, along with a .993 fielding percentage — above his career average of .989.

Contreras is the top available catcher on the trade market, likely increasing his value and the Cubs' potential asking price. Still, he's amazing at what he does and is the type of player that could help the Guardians return to the playoffs.

Guardians World Series Odds

The Guardians have a long way to go before they're seen as legitimate championship contenders in oddsmakers' eyes. FanDuel Sportsbook has Cleveland available at +8000 odds (No. 17) to win the 2022 World Series.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.