Some Promising Signs For Guardians’ Offense

During Saturday night’s Cleveland Guardians’ game, it was speculated late in the telecast if their was any frustration building for the Guards because they were getting a lot of baserunners, but not many of them crossed home plate.

We understand this could cause the hitters to put pressure on themselves to come through with men in scoring position, but hopefully the offense doesn’t change the approach we have seen recently.

We are a big proponent of drawing walks. It’s an overlooked skill by many baseball fans, but when we are asked why we like bases on balls, the answer is simple: It’s better than making an out.

It hasn’t translated yet in terms of runs scored, that’s for sure. Cleveland still ranks third from the bottom in the American League in runs scored. However, they have moved up to 10th in batting average from 14th a year ago, and they are also 10th in on base percentage. They were dead last in 2025.

That’s progress.

It’s also early.

Guardians’ hitters seem to be working counts better, fouling off pitches, and driving up pitch counts this season, save for the opening series against Seattle. And this approach will pay dividends as the season goes on, getting into opponents’ bullpens earlier.

Right now, Steven Vogt’s squad has several hitters with solid strikeout to walk ratios. Brayan Rocchio has actually walked more than he has fanned, with ninr bases on balls vs. six whiffs. It’s why he has a .344 on base percentage despite hitting .200

The usual reliables, Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan, are about even in the K/BB ratio. And we liked rookie Chase DeLauter’s ratio in the minors, and so far it has translated to the bigs, as he has taken seven free passes against 10 punchouts.

Another rookie with the same type of profile in the minors, Juan Brito, has drawn a couple of walks in his 20 plate appearances with only five whiffs.

And speaking of striking out, Cleveland hitters have the third fewest in the AL thus far, another good thing.

Something else positive? The Guardians are sixth in the league in home runs to date. Last year, they were 13th. Outside of DeLauter’s opening salvo in the power department, this has been accomplished without the big bats supplying the pop. Ramirez has two homers. Kyle Manzardo, who was second on the team a year ago with 27 dingers, has just one.

Free agent signee Rhys Hoskins only has one.

We haven’t even mentioned Angel Martinez, who is 15 for 47 with five extra base hits. And so far, he’s hitting from both sides of the plate.

Last season, the Guardians’ anemic attack not only didn’t hit homers, they also didn’t get extra base hits either, ranking 12th in doubles. This year? They are currently second. DeLauter has nine extra base knocks, with Ramirez, Hoskins and Daniel Schneemann contributing six each.

As we said before, it is way too early for conclusions, but these are good signs for the Guardians’ ability to score runs. Hopefully, these trends continue because as we always say, you have to score runs to get into the post-season.

Early Spring Training Thoughts And Disappointments

The Cleveland Guardians have been playing exhibition baseball for a little over a week now, and it is hard to believe the regular season will start three weeks from Thursday in Seattle. As we always say, the results of the games aren’t important, but how younger players perform does.

Since outside of Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan, most of the Guardians don’t have a real track record, we do look through the box scores to see how the prospects are performing and also, we look at the players the front office should be ready to move on from.

Of course, the guy causing the most buzz and the most worry is Chase DeLauter. He has started off 5 for 8 with a home run and two doubles but also missed three days with leg soreness. His durability has been in question since he was drafted and having to miss a few days after playing in three games has to send up a warning flare.

George Valera is 5 for 14, but with five strikeouts and just a walk. We aren’t too concerned about the lack of walks, as we have seen he is a patient hitter, but if he keeps hitting, we would expect him to open the year on the big club.

It is also good to see Bo Naylor get off to a strong start (5 for 10, 3 doubles, two walks). After a solid September, perhaps he’s found something at the plate.

On the other hand, so far, it’s been more of the same from Gabriel Arias and Nolan Jones.

Arias is two for nine in his four games, but that’s not the problem. His issue has been making contact and he was already whiffed five times in those nine plate appearances and hasn’t walked. He’s coming off a year where he fanned at a 34.4% clip, the highest of his career. He walked only 27 times in 471 times at the dish.

His competition at shortstop, Brayan Rocchio has gone 4 for 14 early with a walk and just two punchouts. If Rocchio wins the spot, it could make room for rookie Juan Brito at 2B.

As for Jones, after hitting a homer in his first exhibition appearance, he has struck out six times without a walk in 17 plate appearances. He whiffed 113 times versus 39 walks a year ago. If he’s vying for playing time against DeLauter and Valera, it would seem he would be the odd man out.

The front office has a lot of faith in both Arias and Jones, and frankly we don’t know why. Forget the metrics, the eyes tell you both need to learn the strike zone better to be consistently successful.

Switch-hitter Angel Martinez is just 2 for 10, but with two walks, but his success vs. southpaws keeps him in the mix for Opening Day. We like the walks, but in both of the last two seasons when he came up, he was very patient and then started free swinging. We think he’d be better, especially from the left side, being more selective.

Petey Halpin is off to a good start too, going 5 for 10 with three walks and if he was a right-handed hitter, he’d probably would have a leg up on a roster spot, but the glut of lefty bats makes it likely he goes to AAA.

There are a lot of games and a lot of at bats for these guys to impress or turn it around. That’s the beauty of spring training baseball.

Spring Training Starting. Guards Still Need A RH Bat

The Cleveland Guardians had to play all 162 games before clinching the American League Central Division title over the Detroit Tigers last year. That’s a pretty slim margin.

Now imagine a key series at Progressive Field on the first weekend in September in a tight race for a playoff spot and Tigers’ skipper A.J. Hinch maneuvers his rotation to have his pair of left-handed aces, two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and free agent signee Framber Valdez face the Guardians.

And Steven Vogt’s counter is…what?

Team president Chris Antonetti has said twice in the past few weeks that he wants to give the Guards’ young prospects a runway for playing time this season. The problem with that is all of those hitters, Chase DeLauter, George Valera, and C.J. Kayfus hit from the left-side and another, Juan Brito is a switch-hitter.

In 2025, Cleveland hitters batted .224 with a 647 OPS against southpaws. Keep in mind, the league average OPS against all pitching was 719. So, against lefties, the offense was pretty mediocre.

Consider that the Guardians’ resident superstar, Jose Ramirez, batted .322 vs. LHP and had an 896 OPS. That means that when Ramirez isn’t in the equation, the Guardians’ hitters batted .212 against lefties.

If we limit the numbers to right-handed hitters vs. LHP, it’s a little better, a .233 batting average and a 695 OPS. But again, removing Ramirez’ numbers, the batting average falls to .215 and he belted six of the team’s 37 homers against southpaws.

Clearly, the Guardians need to hit left-handers a heck of a lot better in 2026. But they also haven’t done anything to address the situation in the off-season.

If you look at the current roster and rank the hitters by OPS (limiting the list to players with over 200 plate appearances), the list will go like this:

Ramirez (S)
Kyle Manzardo (L)
Steven Kwan (L)
Bo Naylor (L)
Carlos Santana (S) and of course released

The best right-handed hitter was Gabriel Arias who had a 638 OPS and if you are a regular reader, you know how we feel about him as a hitter. His numbers vs. LHP? Try a .211 batting average and a 666 OPS with 51 strikeouts and just seven walks in 135 plate appearances.

Having David Fry back will help. In his career he is hitting just .234 vs. lefties but has a .342 on base percentage and slugs .465 with 17 homers in 336 plate appearances.

Kwan hit .246 vs. lefties with a 581 OPS.

Angel Martinez was the next best hitter against LHP, batting .279 with a 792 OPS. They need another player with that kind of production, maybe two.

But it’s most definitely an issue. The Guardians need a proven right-handed bat. So, if it comes down to another race to make the post-season, will the team have a stick from the right side they can rely on?

So, while we appreciate the brass wanted to give DeLauter, Valera, and Kayfus a runway to get at bats, can Steven Vogt count on them against a lefty like Skubal? They would argue that nobody has much success against a pitcher like him but know this–he gave up 18 homers last season. Only one to a left-handed hitter.

Heck, Jhonkensy Noel took him deep.

We know the regular season doesn’t start until the end of March, but usually a contending team seems to make a move to counteract something their main competition does. The Cleveland Guardians can want to see their young players, but they need a right-handed bat.

Surely, the front office can see that.

Being Consistent Is So Important In Pro Sports, Especially Baseball

The thing about professional sports (or all sports for that matter) is they are all about consistency. The best players do it almost every game. Think about it, at the professional level, the players are the best in that sport. That means all of them are capable on a certain day or night.

Unfortunately, in today world of social media, people glom onto these players who are sporadic and show flashes of brilliance. But those guys aren’t great players.

In northeast Ohio, we have several players who fit that description. For the Guardians, the player who stands out most is Gabriel Arias.

Arias has skills. He has a tremendous throwing arm and has hit some mammoth home runs. But when you look at the whole, it isn’t pretty. He has an OPS well below the league average at 638 in 2025. He struck out 162 times last season, walking just 27.

Last season, we kept track of games where Guardians’ players did not get a hit, walk, sacrifice (fly or bunt) or got hit by a pitch. Meaning, they did nothing to contribute to the offense. Arias led the team in that category, followed closely by Angel Martinez and Daniel Schneemann.

If you visit this site, you know how important we think walking is to an offense. Why? Because it’s contributing to the offense and it’s not making an out. In today’s baseball world of exit velocity and launch angle, being patient takes a back seat for a lot of people who analyze the sport.

Looking at the MLB leaders in walks, there isn’t a bad hitter in that list. It is populated by players like Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Rafael Devers. We think at times people forget that half of OPS is on base percentage.

One of the reasons the Guardians’ offense struggled in 2025 was because they ranked last in the American League in getting on base. The list of players who couldn’t reach base 30% of their plate appearances seems endless.

Besides the trio mentioned before, you can add Brayan Rocchio, Nolan Jones, and any catcher the Guardians employ. And the 30% threshold isn’t overwhelming either. If a hitter goes 2 for 9 with a walk, they will accomplish that.

And with the ridiculous velocity and spin rates being used by today’s pitchers, we think it makes sense to make hurlers show they can get in the strike zone. If you watch games, think about how many times a batter could literally go to home plate without a bat and draw a walk?

But we digress.

Players in all sports need to be judged on what they do on an everyday basis, not picking out individual game highlights and hoping they can do that every day.

We are privileged in this area to watch a future Hall of Famer, Jose Ramirez, on a daily basis. And when Ramirez has a slump, let’s say he goes hitless in three straight games, it is shocking. Why? Because generally, he does something good with a bat in his hand in most contests.

That’s the mark of a good professional athlete. We are surprised when they don’t do something rather than being shocked when they do.

Three Major Weak Spots For Guardians

In a little over a week, the Hot Stove season will start in earnest for baseball. Teams all over the sport will be looking to get better, shore up weaknesses, and even make room for hot prospects.

The Cleveland Guardians aren’t a team that generally makes big splashes in terms of acquiring talent. They made two major deals a year ago, but both were more about dealing players who were going to make big money soon (in the case of Andres Gimenez) or were going to hit free agency soon (Josh Naylor).

Despite their September run, the Guardians have a lot of holes on the roster. It has been well documented how bad their offense was, they were third worst in the sport, ahead of just Colorado and Pittsburgh, meaning they were the worst in the American League.

They were also second worst in team OPS, on base percentage, and in slugging percentage.

Where do the Guardians have to get better? If you look at WAR (wins above replacement), it is quite clear where the improvement needs to be. Cleveland had the worst centerfield play in the majors.

Who played there in 2025? Angel Martinez played 114 games, followed by Lane Thomas (38) and Nolan Jones (35). Martinez is still young (he will be 24 next season) and was very good vs. LHP, batting .279 with a 792 OPS. He’s still young enough to develop against right-handers, although he batted .197.

We would guess the Guards will move on from Thomas, who is a free agent, and Jones, who frankly just wasn’t good.

They were third worst in rightfield. Again, Jones got the bulk of the playing time there, appearing in 101 games, followed by Jhonkensy Noel with 60 games.

Noel’s struggles at the plate, mostly involving making contact, are well documented. His OPS was under 500 in 2025.

The third position where the Guardians were near the bottom, 27th in this case, was shortstop, with Gabriel Arias playing 106 games and Brayan Rocchio playing in 72 contests.

Arias received a career high in plate appearances in ’25 and his numbers were pretty much the same as before. He batted .220 (career mark .215), his on base percentage was .274 (same as career) and he slugged .363 (.356).

He has a tremendous arm, perhaps the best in the game, but let’s be truthful, he struggles going to his left. We feel Rocchio has more range by far.

So, what can the team do about these trouble spots?

We don’t know if Cleveland will deal Steven Kwan this winter, but if they don’t, shouldn’t they consider putting him in CF? He’s a great defensive outfielder, so why not put him in the most important position?

That would open up LF for players like Martinez, Juan Brito, and maybe even Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana.

With DeLauter’s injury history, it seems weird to mention him in center.

Besides RF needs shoring up as well, and we don’t want to forget George Valera there, but as we have said before, the organization cannot just depend on all young players. They still need a right-handed bat, and preferably a veteran one. A “professional hitter” as they say.

And at short, we just believe Rocchio is a better choice. We think he’s a better hitter and as noted earlier, has more range.

The 2025 Guardians don’t just need improvement at those spots, they need to not be the worst on those positions, and two of them are key defensive spots.

Upgrading at CF, RF, and SS will help make this team a lot better in 2026.

An Incredible Stretch That Needs To Last One More Week

It wasn’t even a month ago. It was August 25th, and the Cleveland Guardians were shutout by Tampa Bay, 9-0, their ninth defeat in their last 10 games.

They were a below .500 team at 64-66 and they were six games behind Seattle for the last wild card spot in the American League, and more to the point, they would have to climb over Kansas City and Texas to challenge the Mariners.

Oh, and by the way, they were 12.5 behind Detroit in the Central Division.

Just three days later, the defeated those Mariners in one of those games they had no business winning, falling behind 4-0 in the first inning and being no-hit by George Kirby through five.

Kyle Manzardo broke up the no-no with a homer, and Nolan Jones, of all people, hit another. A seeing eye base hit by Angel Martinez drew the Guardians within one, and the won it in the ninth thanks to another big hit from Jones to start the rally.

They were back above .500 and within four of Seattle.

A three-game losing streak followed capped by a night in Boston where Cleveland hit three homers in a six run sixth off Red Sox’ ace Garrett Crochet, and skipper Steven Vogt took Hunter Gaddis out of the game in the bottom of the 8th with a man on first and two out. Cade Smith gave up four straight hits and the Guardians were back under .500 on September 2nd.

They were four behind for the last wild card spot and now, Tampa Bay was ahead of them as well.

Since then, the Guards’ pitching staff has allowed more than three runs just three times. They’ve won 16 of 18, playing their best baseball of the season and as of today, they are tied with Houston, passed in the standings by Seattle, for that last playoff spot, and they own the tie-breaker with the Astros.

And incredibly, they are just a game behind Detroit for the AL Central lead.

It just doesn’t make a lot of sense, but who cares. We have all heard about what the Guardians record would be based on runs scored and runs against, but the only thing that matters is the win loss record.

In 1995, the Cleveland Indians were the best team in baseball. We think even the world champion Braves would admit that. In 2005, the Indians were 55-51 at the end of July, and then went on a roll, winning 37 of their next 49 and were sitting with the second-best record in the AL heading into the last week of the season.

They lost six of the last seven and missed the playoffs. They won the “team no one wanted to face” award, but no one had to play them.

Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense.

In the last week, Steven Vogt has gotten big hits from Jhonkensy Noel and George Valera and had key pitching performances from Kolby Allard and Jakob Junis. Just like everyone expected.

Every good winning streak is based on getting good pitching and this is no different. In those 17 contests, Guardians’ pitchers have allowed two runs or less in 14 of them. The offense doesn’t have to be good when the other team doesn’t score.

The good play has to last another week for the Guardians to pull this off. Keep winning and the odds are pretty good this team will be in the post-season once again.

Less than a month ago, that would have seemed crazy.

Although Highly Unlikely, Guards Still In It

We repeat this all the time because people think we are overly critical of the Cleveland Guardians, but we want them to be good. Nothing from a sports standpoint would give us more pleasure than to see a Cleveland player catch the last out of the World Series and trigger a celebration that is now 77 years in the making.

It still even brightens our day just a bit knowing the Guardians won last night. We have followed this franchise from the time we were six years old, and believe me, that’s a long time ago.

It seems we have written them off several times this season, but after their come from behind win against Tampa Bay last Wednesday, which brought them back to .500 at 66-66, we could still see a path to the playoffs.

On social media, we said the Guards had 30 games remaining and likely needed to go 20-10 in those contests to have a legitimate shot at the post-season. We did have one caveat, we felt with this offense, it would be very difficult to achieve.

And then, on Friday night, perhaps the most improbably win of the season. Against Seattle, a team vying for a playoff spot, just like Cleveland, the Guardians fell behind 4-0 in the first inning. They followed that by pretty much doing nothing for five innings on offense.

Then, Kyle Manzardo homered in the 6th. Nolan Jones, who was stuck on three homers before tying Wednesday’s game with one, hit another to make it 4-2. They scored again on a ground ball by Angel Martinez that sawed him off badly to make it 4-3.

And then Jones started a ninth inning winning rally with a double, some weird baserunning, and eventually Steven Kwan hit a sacrifice fly to win the game. We imagine a Mariners’ fan watching this and thinking “what the heck?”

The Guardians are still hovering around .500 even though their record, based on their runs scored and runs allowed says they should be at 61-74, which would put them well out of the race.

The league average OPS in 2025 is 721, Cleveland has two hitters, Jose Ramirez and Manzardo, over that mark. That’s it.

Ben Lively, a man who hasn’t pitched since the middle of May due to elbow surgery, still ranks 12th on the team in WAR. And Parker Messick, who has made just two starts on the season as he was just called up, is 11th.

Steven Vogt’s squad is doing it with smoke and mirrors. The team is determining the #2 and #5 spots in the batting order based on production in the past week. Jones, because he had five hits in three games last week, batted after Manzardo, a player in his first full season in the big leagues, on Sunday.

By the way, those five hits are the only hits by Jones since August 19th.

Rookie C.J. Kayfus is 0 for his last 15 and 4 for his last 31, and the organization released Carlos Santana (a move we agreed with) to get him more at bats.

Will Wilson, who was hitting under .200 since being sent down to AAA last month, was recalled when Daniel Schneemann went on paternity leave. He’s hitting .192 with a 511 OPS at the big league level.

And it’s not as though the pitching has been overwhelming either. The Guards are 8th in the AL in team ERA at 3.92 and the bullpen is nowhere near the dominant group they were in 2024.

Yet here they are. And although our brain says this team doesn’t have the horses, our heart tells us there is still a chance.

And if you grew up in the 60’s, 70’s, or 80’s, that’s progress.

Series Sweep Points Out Guardians’ Warts

When you are in a race for a post-season spot, the prevailing wisdom is that if you just keep winning series, you will be just fine. And from the middle of July until last week, the Cleveland Guardians did just that, winning nine of the previous ten series they played.

It’s unlikely any team can continue to win each series, so occasionally losing two of three to an opponent isn’t a killer. However, getting swept by a team that is clearly out of the race, at home no less, is a blow to your playoff hopes.

Can it be overcome? Of course, there are still 39 games to play and frankly, if Steven Vogt’s squad rips off six or seven wins in a row, this past weekend’s performance against the Atlanta Braves will be forgotten.

But for right now, it felt like every weakness this ballclub has showed up over the weekend.

The offense didn’t show up with the Guardians scoring just five runs in the three games. On Friday, only two players, Steven Kwan who had two hits and Kyle Manzardo, who walked twice reached base.

Saturday, the Braves started lefty Joey Wentz, already on his third team this season, and allowed just three hits in six innings. The struggles vs. southpaws returned at an inopportune time. Brayan Rocchio homered to provide the only run, while the pure right-handed hitters went 0 for 11 in the contest.

And in Sunday’s finale, the defense played a part. Angel Martinez played second base for the first time since July 24th and made two errors and Manzardo lost a pop up in the sun.

The starting pitching was shaky. Joey Cantillo, who sent to AAA prior to Sunday’s game, went five innings Friday night and allowed just one run, but he walked it in. No Cleveland pitcher has completed six innings in a start since Gavin Williams’ almost no-hitter vs. the Mets.

That was on August 6th. That’s a week and a half ago.

As we said, Cantillo walked in a run and had four free passes in his five innings. Logan Allen walked three in his 4.2 innings on Sunday. Tanner Bibee has walked four hitters in each of his last two outings.

Besides putting men on base, the walks drive up pitch counts and increases the toll on a bullpen that is leaking oil.

Nic Enright, who has pitched well, gave up a game winning home run in the series finale. Kolby Allard has given up runs in his last two relief stints. Carlos Hernandez came into a 1-0 game on Friday in the ninth and allowed an insurance run.

He also got battered in the 13-4 loss to Miami last Wednesday.

And weirdly, despite the starters not going deep in games and some of the relievers not getting the job done, one pitcher, Jakob Junis has appeared in just one game over the last ten days.

It appears Vogt is going to have to pull another rabbit of his hat to put together another run.

It doesn’t help that the front office has dealt him a shorthand. Think about how many players currently on the 26-man roster, who probably aren’t major league caliber players.

We think about players like Santana, Nolan Jones, Hernandez, perhaps Matt Festa. Talk about replacement level.

But does the organization have anyone ready in AAA to replace these guys? That’s the sad commentary.

Guardians’ Front Office Needs To Be Honest. With Themselves

The worst thing any business can do is lie to themselves. The world is constantly changing, and smart people learn to adapt and change. If you don’t it’s a matter of time before you get stuck in the mud and your competition passes you by.

Professional sports is no exception, and the front office of the Cleveland Guardians have a chance to reexamine their evaluation of certain players before the trade deadline this week. We hope they have not started this process today.

We trust that they haven’t, but we also hope they are taking an honest look at the current roster.

If they do, then they will see a position player roster made up of two all-star caliber players in Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan, a player with some pop and promise in Kyle Manzardo, and seemingly a bunch of journeyman players.

Their job would be to figure if any of that latter group can become everyday players.

We think the two players who could do this would be Angel Martinez and we also believe Brayan Rocchio could do that as well.

We have said before that Martinez, a switch-hitter, has a concerning strikeout to walk ratio, which is currently at 71:13. In AAA, it was a much more manageable 85:35 and in AA it was 101:49. Perhaps he is giving too much credit to big league pitchers.

He’s also fourth on the team in extra base hits, behind Ramirez, Kwan, and Manzardo. If he can walk more often, he will be a solid everyday player.

As for Rocchio, we realize we are going out on a limb here. Last year, he had a 614 OPS and this year, it’s even worse at 559. We think the approach Rocchio has taken at the plate since returning to the big leagues can be sustainable, and that’s a 735 OPS.

And if he doesn’t work out, you have Angel Genao, who is hitting .272 at Akron and is one of the top 100 prospects in the sport.

Moreso, they need to take an honest look at players like Nolan Jones, Daniel Schneemann, and Johnathan Rodriguez.

Schneemann looks like a solid utility man. He can play 2B, 3B, and SS (serviceable, but he scares us) and the OF. He has a little pop too, with 14 HR in 489 plate appearances. But he’s not really a good hitter (679 OPS) and his on base percentage is around .300.

Jones’ fans still point to the 20 home runs he hit with Colorado in 2023. His critics point to his almost 600 plate appearances since with six long balls. We jokingly referred to him as Will Brennan who walks more.

Brennan’s issue is he’s a singles hitter who doesn’t walk, which makes him kind of a useless offensive player. But Jones doesn’t get on base enough to offset the lack of pop. He has just 15 extra base hits on the year. Rocchio has 14 in 115 less times at the dish.

Rodriguez has received the least chances of the trio with just 106 plate appearances over two years, but has just a .161 batting average, a 533 OPS and 33 whiffs. He hits the ball on the ground a lot, 68.3% of the time. It’s hard to get extra base hits doing that.

He’s been great at the AAA level, with a 925 OPS, 47 homers and a decent K/BB ratio. But he has to start hitting the ball on a line or in the air more often.

And we’ve already addressed the issue with Carlos Santana. He’s been an excellent player over the years for the Guardians, but right now, he’s blocking a lot of players, including Rodriguez.

We are sure the offices on the corner of Ontario and Carnegie are very busy this week. Hopefully, the folks still think a playoff spot is attainable this year.

Any Deadline Move Needs To Help The Offense

The Cleveland Guardians have rebounded nicely from their 10-game losing streak a few weeks ago by winning 11 of their next 14 contests.

The offense has perked up scoring 4.5 runs per game since July 1st after averaging less than three a game in June. Part of that is the schedule. Cleveland hitters have faced two of the worst pitching staffs in the American League as of late (Athletics and Orioles), and another that ranks in the bottom third in the league in the White Sox.

Despite the recent surge, the Guardians still rank 13th in the AL in scoring. That’s third worst.

So, if the Guards want to make a run at a post-season spot, the front office needs to address the hitting.

Right now, the league average OPS is 718 and to date, Cleveland has three hitters who are above that figure, and we are sure everyone knows they are Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Kyle Manzardo.

We also think to have a solid batting order on most nights, a team needs at least six, and hopefully seven hitters can put together solid at bats. Right now, Steven Vogt doesn’t have that luxury.

In Thursday’s loss to Baltimore, the only game the Guardians dropped in the series, Vogt used Will Wilson (since sent back to AAA) and Austin Hedges, because Bo Naylor needed a day off.

Wilson and Hedges are terrible hitters. And since you only get 27 outs in a game, you have to figure the pair will account for 6 of those, two innings worth, meaning you better get some runs from the other 21 outs.

As a comparison, let’s look at the Houston Astros, who rank 7th in the AL in runs scored. They have six batters with over 250 plate appearances and OPS over the league average. The Los Angeles Angels are eighth in runs scored and they also have six hitters with that many plate appearances and an OPS over 718.

One more team to look at, the Yankees, who lead the AL in runs scored, have seven guys that qualify under this criterion.

To be fair, Angel Martinez has been hot, and his OPS is up to 687. We like that he is showing more pop, but our concern is his walk to strikeout ratio, which is currently at 13 walks vs. 69 strikeouts.

That’s not the profile of a good offensive player, but if he can develop some patience and strike zone judgment, he could fill one of the three spots needed.

The question is will the front office go out and get a solid bat this week before the deadline. They have prospects at the A level that could draw some interest to a team out of contention, but would the organization be willing to do that?

We saw folks on social media heralding the return of Gabriel Arias from the IL, but he’s a below average bat, his 658 OPS is below Daniel Schneemann.

And speaking of Santana, it appears he is showing that Father Time remains undefeated, but knowing how the organization feels about him, we ask if the team has the stomach to move on from him?

We hate to depend on a rookie, but we would like to see if C. J. Kayfus can be more productive than the veteran.

And we will repeat, the profile of this front office is they do not add to stay in contention, but on the other hand, do they have anyone another team will be interested in come Thursday?

We know about guys like Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, etc., but the Guardians are not in a position to deal them. And we don’t think teams have an interest in Lane Thomas either.

If the Guardians want to stay in contention for a spot in the tournament, they need to add to the offense. They simply don’t have enough hitting for the last two months.