The Cleveland Guardians have hit the halfway point of the 2025 schedule and it’s not looking at though they can return to the post-season.
Steven Vogt’s squad was sitting at 25-17 on May 13th after beating Milwaukee, but since have struggled mightily, going 15-24 in that span. The offense has been mediocre at best. In the month of June, they have scored four runs or more in just ten games, and currently rank 12th in the American League in runs scored.
The pitching has been inconsistent at times, but still ranks ahead of the league average ERA at 3.93.
But back to the hitting. When you look at this team, seriously, how many good hitters do they have? Of course, there is the incomparable Jose Ramirez, a perennial all-star, and Steven Kwan, one of the best leadoff men in the sport.
Kyle Manzardo’s walk rate has dipped in June (just two free passes), but he looks like he has potential, tied for the team lead in homers (13) and third in RBI (33).
Beyond that? Daniel Schneemann has been a surprise, but this month has dropped to .196 with just one homer and overall, his OPS is just a little above league average.
For us, there isn’t anyone else on the team that we can see a path to being an above average hitter, and having only three players like that on a team pretty much ensures you are going nowhere.
The frustration is that this team went to the AL CS a year ago and was just three wins away from the World Series. They’ve had some bad luck, true, but as we have written many times, they also traded one of their best hitters in 2024.
FYI, they weren’t a good offensive team a year ago.
There’s been some bad luck. David Fry provided some offense last year (804 OPS), but had to have elbow surgery, can’t play in the field, and probably needed more than the 33 at bats he received rehabbing before he was activated. He’s currently 6 for 40 with 19 strikeouts in 44 plate appearances.
Their closest hitting prospects to the major leagues, Juan Brito and Chase DeLauter had injuries where they missed significant time. Both are back in action, and the latter seems poised to make his big-league debut anytime now.
With others, the organization has done some miscalculation. Lane Thomas has been made an everyday player, when his career mark vs. right-handers is a 672 OPS. Carlos Santana was signed after Josh Naylor was traded, and right now, he is producing like someone who is 39 years old, which he is. His OPS is below league average and in June, he is batting .163 with two home runs.
Gabriel Arias was supposed to provide some pop, but his contact problems haven’t been resolved (he leads the team with 88 whiffs), and he has only six home runs.
Bo Naylor looked promising in ’23 when he came up and hit .237 with 11 homers (809 OPS), but since has batted .190. He is tied with Ramirez for third on the team in walks, which is a good thing.
Rightfield, centerfield, and shortstop rank among the worst in the league in terms of production.
And perhaps the worst development recently is the defense is falling apart. This team makes way too many defensive mistakes, resulting in extra outs being needed, extra pitches by the guys on the mound, and extra baserunners for opponents.
Perhaps all of the defensive shifting has taken its toll on the team.
As an old coaching friend once told me, starters are starters for a reason.
The good news is the Guardians are at .500 and there is still half a season to go. We saw what the Tigers did last season, and Cleveland isn’t buried like Colorado or the White Sox.
But thinking this is going to turn around with the same players and style of play is probably foolish. Where is the “Guards Ball” the team advertises?
We have speculated about trading Emmanuel Clase, with the bullpen being a strength for the Guardians. We hate saying that, but this lineup simply isn’t good enough.
Right now, this team looks listless, and while it is true teams that aren’t hitting tend to look like that, we believe it goes beyond that. Something has to change in the second half.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 