Cleveland Guardians & Cincinnati Reds Complete Trade

The Cleveland Guardians have acquired 22-year-old left-handed pitcher Steven Hajjar as the "player to be named later" in a trade that was completed back in February, in which they sent Will Benson to the Cincinnati Reds.

This marks the second time Hajjar has been traded within a year. Last August, he was part of a trade between the Minnesota Twins and the Reds that sent Tyler Mahle to Minnesota.

#Guardians 22yr old LHP prospect Steven Hajjar is the player to be named later in the Will Benson trade with the Reds. Hajjar in his pro-debut struckout 83 batters posting a 14.27 SO/9 rate, 38.4% SO% and a 3.05 FIP over 52.1 innings last year over three levels. #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/ohGD9ELDTo
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) March 26, 2023

Hajjar was a second-round pick in the 2021 draft and played for three different levels within the minor leagues for the Twins and Reds in 2022, recording a 3.61 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 83 strikeouts over 52.1 innings.

He split his time between Low-A Fort Myers and High-A Dayton, showing promise with his pitching abilities.

The young pitcher will likely start the upcoming season with one of the Guardians' lower-level minor-league teams as he continues to develop his skills.

The Guardians organization seems to have high hopes for Hajjar's future and it will be interesting to see if he can make it through the year before being traded again. Photo Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports