Guardians Trade for Adell amid AL Standings Race with White Sox, Latest MLB Rumors on Angels Return

In desperate need of any offensive help they can find to keep their playoff chances alive, the Cleveland Guardians are making a trade deadline deal with the Los Angeles Angels for Jo Adell.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network first reported Adell was being dealt to Cleveland.

Per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com, the Guardians are sending catching prospect Jacob Cozart to the Angels.

Angels interim general manager John Mozeliak deserves credit for talking owner Arte Moreno into letting him go into full sell mode before the deadline.

The Adell deal comes after they agreed to trades sending out Jose Soriano, Brent Suter, Logan O'Hoppe and Chase Silseth. Even though it would seem obvious for them to accrue as many prospects as possible, that hasn't always been easy with Moreno at the top of the organization.

Cozart, a second-round pick by the Guardians in 2024, was the No. 18 prospect in Cleveland's system by MLB.com prior to the trade with praise for his framing and receiving skills.

The Guardians have needed offensive punch in their lineup for a long time. Right-handed power, in particular, has been virtually non-existent for this franchise. Their last pure right-handed hitter who had at least 20 homers in a season was Franmil Reyes in 2021.

Adell hit at least 20 homers in each of the past two seasons, including a career-high 37 in 2025. He has 16 in 111 games so far in 2026, which would be four more than anyone on Cleveland's roster.

The Guardians also have another year of team control since Adell can't become a free agent until after 2027.

There are certainly many flaws to Adell's game, particularly his .279 career on-base percentage, but the Guardians' 28 homers from their outfielders is the fewest in MLB, which means they needed to do something to address the situation.

Cleveland (57-56) currently sits in the final wild card spot in the AL, but just one game up in the loss column on the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. The Guardians are also three games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central race.