Who is Kyle Manzardo? All you need to know about Guardians talented prospect acquired in Aaron Civale deal with Rays

The MLB Trade Deadline is less than 24 hours away, and the Cleveland Guardians have joined in on the action by acquiring prospect Kyle Manzardo from the Tampa Bay Rays. In order to acquire the hard-hitting first baseman, the Guardians sent veteran pitcher Aaron Civale to the Rays.

It was reportedly by The Athletics' Zack Meisel earlier on Monday that the Guardians would be interested in trading away Civale if they can land a young hitter with years of team control remaining. This is exactly what the team got by landing Kyle Manzardo from Tampa Bay.

At 23 years old, Manzardo has yet to appear at the MLB level since being drafted in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft. There is a chance that the first baseman could receive an opportunity to showcase his talent at the MLB sooner rather than later, especially if the Guardians trade away veteran Josh Bell.

While a promising young talent, it has been a bit of a disappointing season so far for Manzardo with Triple-A Durham. Through 73 games this year, the first baseman from Couer d'Alene, Idaho, has hit 11 home runs and 38 RBIs, producing a lowly .238 batting average.

"We have acquired 1B Kyle Manzardo from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for RHP Aaron Civale. Manzardo is a career .291 hitter with a .935 OPS across MiLB and is currently ranked 37th on MLB's Top 100 List. #ForTheLand" - @CleGuardians

That being said, Manzardo was the number four prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays system and was ranked 37th on the MLB's Top 100 Prospects List. The talent is clear, as last season, while splitting time at A+ and Double-AA, the first baseman showcased his massive upside by batting a combined .327 with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs.

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Kyle Manzardo was stuck behind several veterans as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays

Manzardo will now be given the opportunity to earn a promotion to the Cleveland Guardians MLB roster. This was something that did not seem possible as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. While Manzardo has proven himself worthy of a shot in the majors, he was simply blocked by key veterans playing in the same position.

Key members of the Tampa Bay Rays organization, such as Yandy Diaz, Luke Raley, Isaac Paredes, and Harold Ramirez, made it impossible for Kyle Manzardo to crack the Rays' MLB roster.