The Guardians announced this afternoon that they have signed an international player Stuart Fairchild in a minor league deal. The deal includes an undrafted invitation to MLB Spring Training.
Fairchild, who turns 30 in March, was a second-round pick by the Reds in 2017. He was traded to Arizona as part of the team. Archie Bradley faced the 2020 trade deadline and made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2021, but returned to Cincinnati (after brief pit stops in Seattle and San Francisco) at the end of 2022. He would spend the next few years in the Reds’ outfield mix and eventually appeared in 223 games over three seasons.
The outfielder has hit well in his time in Cincinnati, with a .232/.316/.403 slash line good for a 94 wRC+ overall. He split time between all three outfield positions for the Reds and managed to go a respectable 23-for-29 on the base paths during his time in the organization. While his overall production was slightly below league average, his ability to handle the middle infield and swipe bases was valuable enough to keep him on the roster in a part-time role. Fairchild’s main draw has been his ability to hit lefties as his .256/.354/.424 line (114 wRC+) against southpaws has made him a solid complement to the team’s lefty outfield bats. Jake Fraley again Is Benson.
Heading into the 2025 season, however, the Reds had no clear path to Fairchild’s roster spot following the club’s acquisition. Austin Hays and the decision to leave Spencer Steer in an outside area. With those good at-bats in the club’s outfield, Fairchild was useful and was picked for assignment. With the need for more outfield depth this season Ronald Acuna Jr. on the injured list, the Braves traded him shortly thereafter. Between Acuna’s injury rehab and the early season suspension of Jurickson Profarthere was plenty of potential playing time in Atlanta’s pitching mix. Fairchild took some of that responsibility, eventually appearing in 28 games for the team where he hit a modest .216/.273/.333 with a 27.3% strikeout rate in 55 plate appearances.
A dislocated pinky finger cost Fairchild nearly a month of the 2025 season, and between that injury and poor performance when healthy he found himself DFA’d by Atlanta back in July. He was picked up by the Rays in the minor leagues but did not make an appearance for an MLB team before being designated for assignment again at the start of the season. He successfully cleared waivers and opted for free agency, which led to the Guardians being able to add him to this free agent deal.
For Cleveland, the addition of Fairchild means they’ve found a decent depth option in the right-handed outfield that has been missing. Lane Thomas to the Royals in free agency this year. The Rangers have the most left-field mix as things stand, with Steven Kwan in the left field, Chase DeLauter in the middle, too George Valera on the right. Jonathan Rodriguez and Angel Martinez should serve as good right-handed complements, but Fairchild provides more depth behind that team and defense that the Guardians, whose 87 wRC+ in the field ranked 26th in the majors last year, don’t make an even more significant addition to the grass.
