3 players should already have Cleveland in their sights

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 22: Joc Pederson #23 of the San Francisco Giants at bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 22, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

The Cleveland Guardians could make the playoffs this year, but they need to address some weaknesses as they head into next season.

Unlike some other teams in the American League, the Cleveland Guardian has never been a team that spent a lot of money on free hands. If they’ve spent even moderately ($50-100 million contract), they’ve been screwed most of the time.

But heading into 2023, there are still some areas they need to address. You can easily do that by targeting these three players this off-season without breaking the bank.

Cleveland Guardians: 3 off-season goals

1) Outfielder Joc Pederson

You might not believe it, but the Guardians haven’t had an outfield with more than one healthy-than-average outfielder since Manny Ramírez was on the team.

They hope Steven Kwan can continue his success into 2023 and that other prospects like Oscar González and Will Benson will eventually succeed. But to ease the pressure on them, the Keepers need to bring in an experienced power hitter to the outfield. Joc Pederson would be great.

On Thursday, Pederson hit .251/.327/.494 with 17 homers, 45 RBI, and a 127 OPS+. The 2022 All-Star wasn’t great defensively (-8 defensive runs saved), but he might as well be a DH.

He’s had a one-year free agency deal for each of the last two seasons (including this year), so even with a multi-year deal, he’s not going to land a massive free agent deal. The most likely is a one or two year deal.