Guards make three deadline deals to vastly improve

The Guardians may have had the day off, but the front office didn’t. The Cleveland front office went off, acquiring a power-hitting outfielder, a reliable bat at first base and another starting pitcher in three deals in the hours before the trade deadline at 6 p.m. on Aug. 3.
Cleveland acquired Angels right-handed-hitting outfielder Jo Adell, Washington lefty starting pitcher Foster Griffin and Cincinnati first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.
To make room, the Guardians sent David Fry and Kyle Manzardo to Triple-A Columbus.
Adell brings a much-needed right-handed power bat to the lineup, which has struggled to score runs. He comes to Cleveland with 16 HRs and 62 RBI to go along with his .239 average. The Guardians parted with catching prospect Jacob Cozart in exchange for Adell. A former first-round pick, Adell blossomed a year ago as a a power threat with 37 HR and 98 RBI.
Griffin came over in a four-for-one deal. Griffin was an NL All-Star and is 12-3. He is a soft-tossing lefty who pitched in Japan for several seasons before coming back stateside and signing a deal with the Nationals.
Lowe is hitting .266 with 12 HRs and 37 RBI.
The Guardians entered the day trailing the ChiSox by 3 games. These moves should dramatically change the look of an offense that has been one of the least productive in baseball.

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