What Adell, Griffin bring to the Guardians
Eric Samulski breaks down the Guardians' trade deadline additions of Jo Adell and Foster Griffin, explaining what the duo brings to Cleveland and how the moves could impact their fantasy values.
Video Transcript
The Cleveland Guardians made a push for the AL Central crown at the trade deadline, acquiring both Jo Adell and Foster Griffin in separate deals.
Adell has taken a little bit of a step back after hitting 37 homers last year.
He's hitting 239 with 16 homers and 62 RBIs in 111 games for the Angels.
But we know that he has power, and the Guardians could certainly use some right-handed power in their lineup, and he gives them some thump in the middle of their order.
He is also under contract for next season, so this wasn't a rental for the Guardians.
One thing to keep in mind for Adell's fantasy value is that he's hitting just 214 off of right-handed pitchers this year with a 593 OPS.
We do know that the Guardians love to platoon, so there is a chance that Adell, maybe he's not on a short side platoon and only plays against lefties, but maybe he sits against more right-handed pitchers than he was, with the Angels.
And so that would reduce some of his fantasy value a little bit just because he's not gonna get as many opportunities.
Obviously, adding Foster Griffin is a huge get for this Guardians rotation.
Griffin has a 3.06 ERA with 116 strikeouts and 30 walks, across 109- 129 and a third innings for the Nationals this year.
He is a deep pitch mix guy with, tons of command, and that's really important for a Guardians rotation that has kind of enigmatic pitchers like Gavin Williams, Joey Cantillo, and Tanner Bibee in there.
They did need somebody besides Parker Messick, who has a little bit of, steadiness and security to them.
That should mean that Slade Cecconi is out of the Guardians rotation as of right now.
It did seem like the Nationals had conversations about an extension with Foster Griffin, tried to see if it was feasible.
When it was determined that it was unlikely, they decided to trade Foster Griffin away and get something rather than risk losing him from free in free agency.
So I understand that from the Nationals' perspective, but it is a big win for the Cleveland Guardians
