Guardians Miss: Cleveland was in on Veteran Slugger Before…

The Cleveland Guardians have had an interesting offseason, to say the least.

They traded away the right side of their infield after an ALCS appearance and spent $10 million on Shane Bieber, who likely won’t be healthy until the second half of the season.

However, Cleveland’s front office appears to have been extremely active behind the scenes.

Leading up to the Josh Naylor trade and eventual Carlos Santana signing to take his place, the Guardians were reportedly interested in another veteran first baseman on the market.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Guardians “were in for the ex-MVP” 1B/DH Paul Goldschmidt before he signed with the New York Yankees. The Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks also reportedly contacted Goldschmidt.

Heyman also noted that Goldschmidt turned down bigger offers to come to the Yankees, but he did not mention which organization that was.

It’s interesting to read this report and look back on the timeline of these events.

The news that Goldschmidt would be going to New York broke on the afternoon of Saturday, 21.

Just hours after, the Guardians traded Naylor to the Diamondbacks and signed Santana to a deal. Then, only a few days later, the Nationals pulled off their trade to acquire 1B National Lowe from the Texas Rangers.

It appears that Goldschmidt put the entire first base market in motion with his decision.

Let’s take a quick look at this from the Guardians’ perspective.

Goldschmidt is two years younger than Santana, but the Guardians are much more familiar with the ladder, given this is his third stint with the organization. Goldschmidt may have a slightly better track record, but Santana is coming off a better season at the plate and in the field.

While it would’ve been interesting for Goldschmidt to be in a Guardians uniform, Cleveland is likely still happy with how everything turned out for them.

This report from Heyman that the Guardians were talking to Goldschmidt about a deal could also give Cleveland fans hope that the front office is willing to spend on another free agent before the offseason ends.