The 2026 MLB Draft is wrapped up, with scouting teams trying to sleep off the copious amounts of coffee and Red Bull they consumed over the last several weeks.
And on deck? The trade deadline and then the final home stretch of the regular-season playoff races.
The Guardians (51-46) enter the 2026 All-Star break in a virtual dead heat with the Chicago White Sox (50-45) in the American League Central. The Minnesota Twins (48-49) and Detroit Tigers (44-52) might not be completely buried yet, but both could be heading the other direction in terms of the moves those teams might make at the trade deadline.
Here are the top questions facing the Guardians in the second half of the season.
Can Parker Messick match his All-Star first half?
Arguably the Guardians’ MVP of the first half of the season, Parker Messick earned an All-Star nod while posting a 2.73 ERA in 19 starts. And after being one of six starting pitchers to open spring training camp vying for five spots, Messick pitched his way onto the rotation and has been that group’s best in 2026.
Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams have each had some poorer moments. Joey Cantillo has largely been solid, if a touch inconsistent. Slade Cecconi was great over the last several weeks, but it came after a painful start to the season. Messick, meanwhile, has been the best of the bunch, to the point of flirting with a few no-hit bids. He’s one of three Guardians All-Stars — along with Cade Smith, Travis Bazzana — and he’s one of the most important players on the roster in the second half.
Can Steven Kwan return to All-Star form?
It’s been a dreadful season for Steven Kwan at the plate, at least by his standards.
Through June 22, a span of 71 games, Kwan was hitting .206 with a .572 OPS, concerning enough that he was sent tumbling to the No. 9 spot in the order after acting as the club’s lead-off hitter for four seasons.
But there might be some hope on the horizon for the Guardians. Since June 23, a span of 18 games, he’s slashing .309/.387/.418 for an .805 OPS with four extra-base hits, three RBIs, five runs scored and three stolen bases.
The Guardians seem stuck in a continuous search for more offense. With a few rookies holding down the top of the lineup and some others returning from injury over the next few weeks, Kwan returning to form would alleviate some of that offensive pressure on others.
Cleveland trading Kwan was one of the biggest decisions of the winter. They opted to hang onto him, and his poor first half has complicated matters on that front.
When will Jose Ramirez, Angel Martinez return from injury?
Guardians fans will roll their eyes when they hear this but, effectively, the Guardians will look at the returns of star third baseman Jose Ramirez and outfielder Angel Martinez as trade deadline additions.
The rest of the division had a great opportunity to put some space between them and the Guardians with Ramirez out of the lineup but weren’t able to do it, which sets up Cleveland well in the second half once he’s able to return to the lineup from a hamate bone injury.
The original estimated timeline put that somewhere around the end of July, but these injuries can vary. Few players, if any, are more important to their lineup than Ramirez is to Cleveland’s.
Martinez, who fractured his foot at the same time Ramirez hit the injured list, was given a similar timetable for a return and could be back within the next 2 to 3 weeks, barring any setbacks.
The Guardians have been holding their head above water and could get both Ramirez and Martinez back around the same time, leaving them in a favorable spot at the All-Star break if they can get through the next couple weeks.
Can Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana or Parker Messick win Rookie of the Year voting?
Chase DeLauter was the story of the first week of the regular season. Bazzana and Messick are All-Stars, with the former doing so without starting the year in the major leagues. All three have a shot at being a Rookie of the Year finalist, although it’ll be an uphill climb to take it away from two AL Central rival rookies.
Detroit infielder Kevin McGonigle and Chicago White Sox infielder Munetaka Murakami were leading the Rookie of the Year race at the All-Star break. Sportsbooks have McGonigle as the favorite, Murakami firmly as the second favorite and a group of about seven players — including Bazzana, DeLauter and Messick — in the running.
What will the Guardians do at the 2026 MLB trade deadline?
The Guardians have a pretty standard operating procedure when it comes to the trade deadline, and it’s likely they’ll follow it in 2026. All avenues can be explored, and some minor, sensible additions are more likely than a home run swing as the front office carefully takes stock of available resources. It isn’t often the calculated Guardians front office deviates from its internal values assigned to players.
The Guardians made a huge splash at the 2016 deadline by acquiring elite reliever Andrew Miller. But aside from that big swing, the Guardians have tended to target smaller additions to round out the roster at the deadline.
In 2026, that likely means an outfielder or a reliever. The Guardians will also point to the trade that brought in catcher Patrick Bailey as an addition that simply came well before the deadline. Ramirez and Martinez will also provide a potential boost, albeit from within.
If the Guardians target an outfielder to bolster their mix, Colorado’s Mickey Moniak, Baltimore’s Taylor Ward and the Los Angeles Angels’ Jo Adell could all be on the market. Milwaukee’s Garrett Mitchell could also be in that conversation simply because of the Brewers’ depth in the outfield, if that price tag can be reached. Ward and Adell being right-handed hitters might make them the best fit for one of the most left-handed lineups in recent history.
Just about every contending team at every trade deadline could use a reliever or two for the stretch run and postseason. The Guardians could certainly add a high leverage reliever or two ahead of Smith as an All-Star closer.
Some of the potential top targets are Boston’s Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock, Tampa Bay’s Pete Fairbanks, Baltimore’s Yennier Cano, St. Louis’ Riley O’Brien, the New York Mets’ A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley, Miami’s Lake Bachar and Anthony Bender, Colorado’s Antonio Senzatela and San Francisco’s Caleb Kilian.
There’s no shortage of reliever upgrades available, but there also won’t be a shortage of teams hoping to acquire them.
Ryan Lewis covers the Guardians for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What will the Guardians do at MLB trade deadline? Who might they target?
Reporting by Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
