It wasn’t too surprising when the Cleveland Guardians decided to non-tender the contract of Will Brennan, making him an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.

Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, he suffered an elbow injury early on in the season and underwent Tommy John surgery, ending his season months early. (Brennan was a pitcher in college, so his arm has seen plenty of action throughout his baseball career.)

Given that Brennan’s health was up in the air and the need to add multiple players to the 40-man roster, Cleveland couldn’t guarantee him a spot on the roster.

That shouldn’t mean the Guardians should completely give up on the outfielder, though. Cleveland shouldn’t be opposed to bringing back the left-handed hitter into the organization on one condition, and that’s if Brennan signs a minor league deal.

This type of contract would make sense for the Guardians, who need more outfield depth. Right now, there may not be a spot available on the big-league roster, but with the injury history of Chase DeLauter, George Valera, Nolan Jones, and even Steven Kwan, Cleveland should be prepared for at least one or two of them to end up on the injury list at some point throughout the season.

Even though Brennan has lived up to the potential of being one of the better-hitting prospects in the organization in 2022, he still has a career slashline of .267/.307/.373 and a .680 OPS over four MLB seasons.

Plus, Brennan has experience playing all three outfield positions and is a solid defender at each.

Yes, if Brennan signs a minor league deal, Cleveland would need to make a 40-man roster move to bring him back to the big league roster. But if it gets to that point, at least the Guardians would be adding a player they’re familiar with, and the player is familiar with the coaching staff.

Brennan might also be interested in a deal like this because he could finish his rehab with the same team that started it. He could also re-establish some value as a big-league player.

Overall, the Guardians need outfield depth, and Brennan is a familiar player to the organization who has shown at times he can be a nice bench piece for the big league team.