Cleveland Indians Acquire OF Brandon Guyer from Rays

Cleveland Indians Acquire Brandon Guyer from Rays

The Cleveland Indians have added another piece for their playoff stretch run, acquiring outfielder Brandon Guyer from the Tampa Bay Rays for a pair of minor league prospects.

The addition of Guyer may not look all that great on the surface, not with names like Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Beltran being mentioned in the last few days, but it’s a move that compliments the Tribe’s lineup very well.  While the 30-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder is batting only .241 on the season, he is hitting a robust .338 versus left-handed pitching in 2016. For his career, he has a .283 average against southpaws with a .846 OPS and 142 wRC+. 

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Guyer’s .338 average against lefties would rank him first on the Indians, just ahead of Francisco Lindor (.336).  He should slot in as a right field platoon with lefty Lonnie Chisenhall though he could also get some look in left field and center field, having played all three outfield spots this season. He could spell Naquin against lefties as well and finally give the Indians a legit weapon against lefties that they’ve missed since Marlon Byrd was suspended after two months with the club.

The Indians dealt a pair of prospects to get Guyer: outfielder Nathan Lukes and right-handed pitcher Jhonleider Salinas. Neither prospect ranked in our top 30 preseason prospect lists and neither got a ton of consideration for our upcoming midseason rankings. That said, Lukes has put together a strong (though brief) career in the low levels since being drafted in the seventh round of the 2014 draft. He hit .301 with the Class-A Lake County Captains this year along with a .829 OPS. He does not have the tools of a Bradley Zimmer or even a Greg Allen but he could still develop into a decent player.

Salinas is just 20 years old and has spent the 2016 season in the Arizona Rookie League. He pitched in eight games this season (three starts) posting a solid 2.91 ERA and striking out over a dozen per nine innings. The Venezuelan native doesn’t have much experience but good arm and maybe becomes one of those “lottery ticket” types that could pan out.

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All in all, though, the Indians added a solid piece in Guyer who can help the Indians win in 2016 AND in the future as Guyer is under team control through the 2018 season. He compliments the left-handed dominant outfield of the Indians and still fits once (or if) Michael Brantley returns. The Indians have not announced who will be losing their 25-man roster spot but Erik Gonzalez seems like the likely candidate though Abraham Almonte could be optioned to Columbus as well.