Once a top prospect, Jo Adell is in his age-27 season. Thearon W. Henderson / Getty ImagesAug. 3, 2026 Updated 12:42 pm EDTThe Cleveland Guardians on Monday agreed to acquire outfielder Jo Adell from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for catching prospect Jacob Cozart, a team source told The Athletic.No team needs offense worse than the Guardians, who own the league’s worst team OPS. The question is, how much will the 27-year-old actually help with that? The 2025 version of Adell would fit Cleveland’s present needs. That Adell smacked 37 homers and posted a 115 OPS+. Adell has been underwhelming this year, with a .239/.287/.395 slash line and his barrel percentage dropping from 17.3 percent in 2025 to 8.6 percent this season.Adell has great bat speed, and isn’t striking out at an intolerable rate. He just doesn’t walk much, nor does he grade out well defensively, despite some breakout performances. In short, Adell hasn’t lived up to the hype of a once-consensus Top 10 prospect in the league.
Beggars can’t be choosers, though. He bats right-handed, exactly what the Guardians needed before the 6 p.m. ET deadline. His 16 home runs surpass the total of any individual Guardians hitter. Plus, he’s under team control through 2027.Adell’s trajectory since being picked 10th in the 2017 draft is fascinating, and there’s no discounting the significant work he’s done to make himself a legitimate big leaguer. He was optioned multiple times early in his career, suffered through numerous defensive lapses, and even struck out nearly 40 percent of the time in 2022 and ’23.He’s been able to pull himself up. The Guardians are taking a chance on his ability to do so again. In return, they coughed up their second-round pick in 2024. They liked Cozart, but they have a ton of catching depth, with Cooper Ingle and Kody Huff in Triple A and Patrick Bailey and Austin Hedges in the big leagues.This story will be updated.Aug 3, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
