Brandon was the right Guy(er) at trade deadline for Indians

When the Cleveland Indians acquired outfielder Brandon Guyer from the Tampa Bay Rays prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, most fans had three reactions:

• Who is that guy?
• How is he going to help our team?
• Why not trade for a batter who can significantly help the team in their postseason run?

While Indians fans had a hard time taking in the fact that Guyer was the Indians’ biggest bat acquired at the deadline, let alone trying to find out who he even was, the 30-year-old has made quite a name for himself in Cleveland since August 1, arguably no more so than in Wednesday night’s 6-5 win over the Houston Astros. While Guyer didn’t start the game, he had a tremendous two-RBI double that eventually turned into the winning run in the fifth inning after he pinch-hit for outfielder Tyler Naquin.

https://vine.co/v/55VnvdLtOOi

Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Guyer robbed Astros outfielder George Springer of extra bases with a highlight-reel catch while jumping against the left field wall, getting the Indians out of the inning with a 6-3 lead.

https://vine.co/v/55VvuKBIhL0

If Wednesday night wasn’t good enough, the University of Virginia graduate has proven to be quite an asset in the Indians outfield this season. He may be a platoon guy (like most of the team’s outfielders at this point), but he has played great—both in the field and at the plate. While it’s a small sample size, Guyer has a .309/.433/.436 (125 OPS+) slash line with four doubles, one home run, and 10 RBIs, with a .356 batting average on balls in play in 55 at-bats with Cleveland. He was brought in as a platoon due to the fact that he has been dominant against left-handed pitchers, but since joining the Indians, the righty has fared well against right-handers as well.

• vs. LHP: .297/.435/.486, four doubles, one home run, five RBIs in 37 at-bats
• vs. RHP: .333/.429/.333, five RBIs in 18 at-bats

Guyer mainly plays against left-handers, while Naquin normally plays against right-handers, but when the postseason rolls around, the Tribe’s deadline acquisition could play an even bigger role due to the fact that outfielder Abraham Almonte is disqualified from playing in the playoffs because of his suspension at the beginning of the season for PEDs.

There’s a chance Guyer could eventually regress to his normal self, the one that has a .258/.347/.398 split in his five seasons since making his debut in 2011, but as of right now, he has been an excellent addition to the Indians outfield. And to think that the Indians only had to trade two low minor league prospects to obtain him for the rest of this season. Compare this to more household names like Josh Reddick who is hitting.212/.264/.527 with the Dodgers, and Jay Bruce who has hit .204/.268/.345 with the Mets since the deadline, both players requiring a more substantial return for their services.

Guyer may get hit by plenty of pitches, but if he remains to be a hit in Cleveland, he and the Indians outfield can help the team reach their ultimate goal this season. Not bad for a guy we knew so little about before Indians GM Mike Chernoff brought him aboard.