Bullpens Are Key In The Playoffs. Guardians Are No Exception.

It used to be that starting pitching dominated in the post-season. We think about Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and Mickey Lolich in the 60’s, Catfish Hunter in the 70’s, and even as late as 1988, Orel Hershiser was dominating in the playoffs and pitched the Dodgers to a World Championship.

In the 90’s, starting pitching was still very important, but Joe Torre kind of revolutionized the use of the bullpen when he basically asked his relievers to get one more out than normal. For example, he wanted Mariano Rivera to get four outs instead of three, and asked the same of his set up guys, trying to make it a six-inning game.

And Cleveland fans certainly remember Terry Francona’s masterful usage of the bullpen during the 2016 post-season, using Andrew Miller in a variety of roles, and he was so effective he was the MVP of the League Championship Series.

We bring this up because it will be interesting to see how Steven Vogt will use the bullpen in these playoffs. Of course, the anchor for the Guardians will be Cade Smith, who tied for the league lead in saves, and in several occurrences, was counted on to get four outs.

That will probably be the case in the upcoming Division Series as well.

But who else does Vogt count on heavily?

Hunter Gaddis has carried a big load for this team over the past three seasons, but he’s been in a bit of a slump over the last couple of weeks, allowing 12 hits and two home runs over his last 7.1 innings. Perhaps the rest before Saturday’s Game 1 rejuvenates him. On the other hand, maybe the 230 appearances (including the playoffs) over the past three years have taken its toll.

Right now, the reliever that gives us the most confidence behind Smith is left-hander Erik Sabrowski, who has allowed just 26 hits in 48.1 innings this season with 76 strikeouts. During the last two months of the regular season, the southpaw has given up just 5 hits in 17.1 innings and just one run with 24 Ks.

However, the one concern is his control. He walked 26 hitters this year and nine of them over the last two months. And he had one appearance where he came in and walked four hitters in a row. He pitched decently in the ’24 playoffs and last year had a poor outing in his one appearance against the Tigers.

We assume we will see a lot of Tim Herrin, and we admit that makes us nervous because of his proclivity to walk hitters. Over the past two seasons, he’s issued 58 free passes in 99.1 innings. We will repeat our mantra: Relief pitchers cannot walk people and cannot give up home runs.

We wonder if the wild card might just be Daniel Espino. Espino was used as an opener in September and for the year fanned 25 hitters (with 7 walks) in 15.1 innings. Vogt may use him in combination with Joey Cantillo again, or in the 6th or 7th innings.

Shawn Armstrong might get some opportunities as well. Armstrong had two different stints on the injured list during the season but returned to make three scoreless outings in the season’s last week.

Even though the relief corps is key, getting innings from the starters is still important. In Vogt’s first year, we thought he took starters out perhaps too early even if they were pitching well. We understand the concept of replacing a starter too early rather than too late, but eating innings is important too.

Guardians Winning Shouldn’t Be Taken For Granted

We are critical at times of the Cleveland Guardians’ organization, mostly due to the lack of funds given to the front office by ownership. At some point, not winning a World Series in 78 years should be something the entire organization wants to rectify.

On the other hand, you have to tip your caps to the run this franchise has been on since 1995. the Indians/Guardians have played in the post-season 16 times. They’ve made the playoffs nine times since 2013.

We understand the post-season has expanded since the move to three divisions in 1994, but not many franchises have played in October more often than Cleveland.

The consistency of putting out competitive teams year in and year out should not be minimized. Since ’13, the fewest wins for this franchise in a full season is 80, two games below the .500 mark. There has been no tanking, no sacrificing a season for the greater good.

Cleveland has been host to 14 consecutive years of average baseball at the very least, and a team good enough to be in the World Series at the very best.

We have mentioned many times our first memories of Major League Baseball was in 1965, and the Indians finished fifth in the American League with a respectable 87-75 mark. They would not win that many games in a season again until ’95, when the AL Champions raised the fourth pennant in history with a 100-44 mark.

They finished at .500 in ’66 despite winning their first 11 games of the season, and finished third in ’68 with a, 86-75 record. The next time they won more than 81 contests was 1986. Eighteen years later.

And that season was sandwiched by two 100 loss years.

So, while we won’t be satisfied until the Commissioner’s Trophy is being raised in the middle of the diamond by the Guardians’ owners, we also aren’t going to be angry because they won the AL Central or qualified as a wild card.

Do you know what the chances of winning it all are if you don’t make the playoffs? That would be 0.

We have seen the 1986 Minnesota Twins, who finished at 85-77 and were outscored by their opponents by 20 runs during the season, win the Fall Classic.

The next season, the Dodgers who won 94 games in the regular season but with a lineup decimated by injuries, defeat the powerful Oakland A’s in a five game World Series.

In 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals won a paltry 83 games but beat the Tigers in five games to be World Champs and in 1973, the New York Mets went 82-79 in the regular season, beat the mighty Cincinnati Reds in the League Championship Series and took the A’s to a seventh game before falling.

Sometimes we don’t know how the Guardians’ do it, because trying to make the playoffs with one of baseball’s worst offenses usually doesn’t work out, but here they are again, in the tournament to determine baseball’s champions.

The consistency of putting together teams that can compete well enough to advance past the regular season should not be pooh-poohed. As someone who watched also-rans for 30 years, seeing Cleveland playing in the post-season doesn’t get old.

On this, the organization should take a bow.

Trade Pieces Were Needed, But Guardians’ Biggest Boost Came From Guys Already Here

There is no question the Cleveland Guardians’ front office took a big swing at the August 3rd trade deadline acquiring two bats in Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe and a starting pitcher in Foster Griffin. There is no question the team needed hitting, in fact they are still ranked 12th in the AL in runs scored.

The question is how much the newcomers impacted the success of the team, and the Guards have gone 25-16 since August 4th.

Our favorite deal was the one bringing Griffin to Cleveland and that hasn’t been as impactful as hoped. In his eight starts, he’s pitched to a 5.19 ERA and has allowed 55 hits in 43.1 innings. He’s gone just six innings in two of those starts, not exactly the inning eater we thought he would be, as he went that long in half of his 22 starts with the Nationals.

To be fair, his numbers are skewed a bit by his start on September 9th vs. Baltimore when he gave up a eight runs in 2.1 frames, and it wasn’t as though he was hit hard. Without that start, his ERA would be 3.73.

However, he hasn’t been a guy that Steven Vogt can count on to provide a solid start when he takes the bump. If the Guardians reach the Division Series, can he be trusted to get a start?

Nathaniel Lowe has upgraded the left-handed platoon at first base. Kyle Manzardo had a 684 OPS prior to the trade, and while Lowe has a 654 OPS overall with Cleveland, against right-handers, he has hit .241 and a 704 OPS, driving in 20 runs with five homers. Manzardo had 39 ribbies through the end of July.

The veteran is still just 4 for 42 against southpaws but did deliver a big sacrifice fly vs. a lefty in the series opener against Boston. He’s a solid veteran bat and a good defensive player at first base. He was picked up in the last hour of the deadline and has provided length to the batting order.

We were not thrilled with the deal for Jo Adell, not because of what the Guardians gave up (minor league catcher Jacob Cozart), but because he’s really a platoon player. He struggles vs. RHP and that’s been the case with Cleveland, as he’s hitting just .200 (24 for 120) with 36 strikeouts.

He has been more selective with the Guardians (15 BB in 186 PA vs. 16 BB in 456 PA with the Angels) and he has been a run producer with 31 RBI in 44 games. Ideally, if Steven Vogt wants to play him every day, he probably shouldn’t hit in the middle of the order vs. righties, but it’s not as though the skipper has a lot of options.

Adell and Lowe get a lot of credit for the offense being better since the deadline, and the Guardians have averaged almost a run more per game in August and September. But you can’t forget Steven Kwan hitting .355 with a .440 on base percentage in the second half, and Chase DeLauter batting .310 with a .467 slugging percentage during the same time frame.

And you can’t forget Travis Bazzana’s last month where he has a 964 OPS.

All three of them were here before the trade deadline.

The front office couldn’t stand pat at the deadline and they didn’t. They also brought in players who could help, and they have. But the resurgence of Kwan and the continued development of DeLauter and Bazzana have perhaps made more of an impact.

Don’t Believe Everything The Guardians Tell You, And Stop Picking On Ramirez

In this new age of media coverage, the messenger is certainly controlling the narrative, and sports is no different. We watch the telecasts of the Cleveland Guardians and we and several others call it the “propagandcasts” because it you watch, you certainly get a skewed message.

The picture is rosier if Chris Gimenez is the game’s color analyst, but that’s another subject for another day.

One of the things the announcing team is pounding through our head is that the offense is much better since the trades for Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe were made. To an extent, it is true,

Cleveland has averaged 4.6 runs per game since August 1st, compared to 3.9 before that date. However, they still rank 27th in the sport in scoring ahead of just the Angels, Blue Jays, and Mariners. In addition, they’ve also been shutout six times since the trading deadline. So, the offense has become a bit “feast or famine”, in a sport where consistency is most important.

The major league average OPS is currently 718. Right now, the Guardians have two players over that figure and crazily they are both rookies, Chase DeLauter at 830 and Travis Bazzana at 721. Jo Adell has a 729 OPS with the Guardians, but including his time with the Angels, his figure is 696.

So, Steven Vogt gets to write just two better than average offensive players in his lineup every night. Keep in mind that before Bazzana’s big game on Tuesday, he was below average too. Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, and Angel Martinez are close, but still below the league average.

And of course, since the All-Star break, Kwan has a tremendous 856 OPS, a big number considering he doesn’t hit for power.

Certainly, Ramirez hasn’t had his usual great season, and we are sure he is not 100% healthy due to the surgery to remove the broken hamate bone. However, it’s not like he is dreadful and calls for him to be removed from the lineup and get ready for next year are just silly.

Even with him not being healthy, he is still one of the better hitters currently available. His 24 doubles are second on the team (DeLauter has 28) and his on base percentage is 5th best. In fact, we wish he would take more walks, particularly with his injured hand. He still goes out of the strike zone too often in our opinion to try to get runs home, although the home run pop isn’t there.

Meanwhile, the front office puts a guy like Petey Halpin or David Fry in the lineup and no one bats an eye. Neither is remotely close to being as productive as the seven-time all star, who also by the way, is fourth in the AL in stolen bases.

And note to the viewers of the telecasts, giving Halpin a nickname like “Speedy Petey” doesn’t make him a good hitter. It’s just another attempt to divert your attention that the team has given 173 plate appearances to someone with an OPS under 600.

For the season, the Guardians have given 689 plate appearances to hitters with an OPS under 600, Halpin actually doesn’t have the most, that honor (?) goes to Daniel Schneemann with 287.

We checked the Twins (at random), and they’ve given under 500 plate appearances to hitters in that category.

We guess our point is the offense is better for sure, but it’s a long way from being in the top half of the game.

Guardians Aren’t A Good Team, But Someone Has To Make The Playoffs

The race for the last wild card spot in the American League is like the island of misfit toys. The Guardians are tied for the top spot at 72-71 with Toronto, but Texas (70-73), Baltimore (69-74), and even Minnesota (68-74) are hanging around.

Of those teams, Cleveland and the Rangers have a second opportunity to play October baseball because both of still in their division races, the Guardians being 2.5 behind the White Sox and Texas being 3 behind Houston.

When we look at the local team, we see a team that simply isn’t very good. Despite the deadline acquisitions of Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe, the offense is still third last in the game in runs scored. They have had some big games, scoring eight or more runs five times since August 3rd, but they’ve also been shutout six times in that span.

As for the pitching, Gavin Williams and Parker Messick are consistent, and for the most part, newcomer Foster Griffin is going to give you a solid effort, but when Tanner Bibee and Joey Cantillo take the bump, no one can be confident in how they will pitch.

The baserunning, which has been a strength of the past several years, has been plagued by silly mistakes. After hitting two homers to win the first game on Friday, Brayan Rocchio led off the third with a shot up the gap and the Guardians’ trailing. He tried to go to third and was thrown out, apparently not briefed on the rule to never make the first or third out of an inning at third base.

The bullpen has been better of late but went through about a month stretch where the only reliable guy was Cade Smith.

The defense seems to make an error or a misplay once a game, costing Steven Vogt’s crew an out in a key situation. Angel Genao’s throwing error this past week against Toronto is a glaring example.

Our point is none of the teams mentioned earlier are good teams, yet one of them, maybe two, are going to qualify for the playoffs, and frankly, we would like nothing better than it being the Cleveland Guardians. It makes the fall and winter go faster.

Many of the ups and downs for this team are due to its youth. On most nights, they are playing three rookies, usually Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana, and lately Angel Genao or Angel Martinez. And with youth comes inconsistency and mistakes.

The organization sacrifices hitting at catcher in favor of having elite defenders at the spot. And we also think some of the defense issues come from the constant shuffling of positions for players. Genao seems to shuffle around the infield on a daily basis. It’s probably a credit to his talent that he plays as well as he does.

However, if baseball is to be played in 2027, the front office shouldn’t overrate this team. Yes, there will be improvement from the young players, but the trades for Adell and Lowe should demonstrate the needs for some experienced players on the roster.

The goal shouldn’t be to win the AL Central. It needs to be winning the World Series

Have To Love Meaningful September Baseball

September baseball. There is nothing like it for fans with teams still in contention for a post-season berth, of which there are more than ever before. We have always used the standard that if a team is within five games of reaching the playoffs on September 1st, they still have a reasonable shot of getting in.

In today’s game, it means most teams still have something to play for, which is what the powers that be wanted when they expanded the post-season. For hardcore fans, it brings an added meaning to each and every game.

We think of 2013, Terry Francona’s first year as the Cleveland skipper when the Indians went 21-6 in September coming back from six games out of a playoff spot to hosting the Wild Card Game, which they unfortunately lost. And everyone recalls Jason Giambi’s huge home run to beat Chicago, the signature moment from that run.

In 2017, buoyed by a record 22-game winning streak which spanned from August 24th through September 14th, the Tribe went 25-4 in the last month of the year in route to a franchise record 102 wins.

And of course, just last season Cleveland went 20-7 in September going from four games out of a wild card spot and 10.5 out in the Central to win the division on the last day of the season.

Those seasons provided an unbelievable amount of excitement as baseball fans hung on the results of every single game. Of course, we grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, so a then pennant race was just the rumor, our team was never a part of it, outside of a role as a spoiler.

When the Indians emerged from mediocrity in 1994, supporters were robbed of a potentially great race by the strike. When play ended in August, the White Sox were a mere 1.5 games ahead of Cleveland. We guess the first experience came in ’97 but even still, Mike Hargrove’s squad has a 3.5 game lead heading into the last month, then won 13 of 20 to stretch the advantage to 7.5 and coast to a title.

What we are trying to say is this is a fun, if not stressful time of the year for baseball fans. And for the Guardians, it seems obvious, but this would be a great time to put together a solid stretch of winning, fundamental baseball.

After a four-game set against the Tigers, Steven Vogt’s crew enters a nine-game stretch against three playoff contenders, Baltimore and Minnesota on the road, followed by what could be a huge three game series against the division leading White Sox.

The latter could be very special as winning the AL Central would seem to put that team right into the Division Series with time off to set up the starting pitchers as well as having home field advantage.

Don’t forget the penultimate series of the season is in Fenway Park for three games against the Red Sox, who might already have their playoff plans set at that time.

So, a lot of important baseball coming up. Position in the standings can change series by series, but if you keep winning games and/or series, teams aren’t going to move down.

For Guardians. Get Over .500 And Then We’ll Talk

It is make or break time for the Cleveland Guardians. They are in the midst of a 12 game stretch where they play some of the teams in Major League Baseball with the worst records. They won a three-game set against the San Franciscon Giants at home and have won the first two of a trio in Colorado against the Rockies.

They then take on the Angels before coming home to play the Royals, who by the way are currently on a six game winning streak.

We know where they are in the standings, 3.5 behind first place Chicago and tied for the last spot in the wild card race, but for us, until they are over the .500 mark, it is difficult to get excited about post-season baseball.

Because really, if you can’t win more than half of your games, you aren’t a good baseball team. If Steven Vogt’s team emerges from this stretch over the break-even mark, then we can feel like it’s a pennant race.

That doesn’t mean we don’t want them to win. We have written about this many times. We have been a fan of this baseball team since 1965 and like everyone else, would like nothing better than to see the franchise win its first World Series since 1948.

However, it doesn’t mean that we will polish a turd and say this year’s edition of the Guardians is a threat to do just that. Nothing would be better if they did it, we just don’t see it.

These Guardians just can’t hit. After finishing last season with the third worst offense in the game, they have improved this season. They are fourth worst. That’s not luck, by the way, it’s a trend. And if the organization doesn’t do something about it in the off-season (if not sooner) we really have to wonder what goes on at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

And for those who point out the one good thing a hitter does in a week (Hey, Petey Halpin hit a HR!!!) let us remind you baseball is an everyday sport. You have to contribute on a nightly basis (hey, he has a 569 OPS). That’s why we keep track of the number of games where a player gets three or more plate appearances and does not contribute offensively.

We understand baseball is a game of adjustments, especially for young hitters. Chase DeLauter has done a great job changing and reacting to how pitchers are working to get him out. Is he perfect at altering his approach? Of course not.

And he is probably the best hitter this organization has drafted since Steven Kwan. Those two are gifted in putting the bat on the ball. But name another hitter who has gotten significantly better since getting called up? Guys like Angel Martinez, Halpin, Daniel Schneemann, and the since released Gabriel Arias, have never understood a ball from a strike.

For Schneemann, he was much better at it in the minor leagues. What happened up here?

But we digress.

Can the Guardians get hot and make a run at another AL Central title and/or a wild card spot? Of course, we saw it last year. But there is a reason that had never been done before. It’s unlikely and difficult.

We hope the 2026 edition can pull it off. But excuse us for not getting excited right now.

What Guardians Should Do With The Rest Of The Games.

The Cleveland Guardians’ struggles since the All-Star break, they’ve gone 9-18, makes it pretty clear to most fans that it is time to look toward 2027 (or maybe 2028). We say that because it would not be a shock if labor issues caused Major League Baseball not to be played next year.

It remains to be seen how long the organization continues to look at salvaging this season, because the players and Steven Vogt will want to keep trying to win games until they are mathematically eliminated, which with the three wild card spots available, may not occur until mid-September.

However, among those who don’t kid themselves on a daily basis, it is time to look towards the next season, and what moves should be made with that in mind.

The Guardians made a move yesterday, bringing back southpaw Logan Allen, most likely because the relief corps has been used a lot and the pitcher he replaced, Franco Aleman, pitched in the last two games and wouldn’t have been available.

One thing we would like to see is playing Angel Genao at shortstop. The 22-year-old switch-hitter looks very mature at the plate, starting his big-league career with a four hit game, and overall has gone 10 for 34 with a home run and just three strikeouts to date. He uses the whole field, which is a good sign, but it is time for him to get an extended look at his natural position.

We like Brayan Rocchio, and we understand that this move is not fair to him, but that’s baseball. Does Rocchio fit in as a utility man next year or can he be used as trade bait? He’s shown he’s more than capable defensively, but he’s blocked at second base unless Travis Bazzana changes positions.

And that might be on the table. We wouldn’t be shocked if the former first overall draft pick went back to the minors where a transition might be started. Since June 1st, Bazzana has hit just .208 with 60 strikeouts in 256 plate appearances. He seems very susceptible to the high fastball. He just can’t lay off.

Somehow, the Guardians need to get another look at Cooper Ingle, who is terrorizing the International League with an OPS of 999. Yes, we know what he looked like in his brief time with the big club, but he only had 24 plate appearances.

At AAA, he’s batting .306 with 18 homers and has drawn 63 walks. Where to play him might be an issue because the organization obviously doesn’t view him as a catcher, and he struggled in LF in the bigs. However, he could get some at bats at DH, since the Guardians seem to need guys who can hit.

It’s also probably time to see more of Daniel Espino, who has had control issues at AAA (20 walks in 30 innings), but he’s stuck out 39 hitters and has electric stuff. We would also bring Aleman back as soon as possible.

The Allen recall also made us think that Parker Messick’s innings should be limited the rest of the way. He’s already pitched more innings than ever in his career, and with the team falling out of it, there is no reason to overextend him.

These are just a couple of things to do as the season winds down. And if the Guardians go on a winning streak, that’s great. We just don’t see that taking place.

Just When A Hole Might Be Plugged, Another Crops Up For Guardians

Fourth place. That’s where the Cleveland Guardians sit as of this morning, four games behind the surprising Chicago White Sox in the AL Central Division race.

On Friday, May 22nd, the Guardians beat the Phillies 1-0 on Kyle Manzardo’s home run in the 9th to raise the team’s record to 31-22. They had a 3.5 game lead over the Pale Hose and the second-best record in the American League. They were fourth in the league in runs scored, so the offense was generating runs.

Since then, Steven Vogt’s crew has gone 27-39 and the offense has plummeted to third last in the major leagues in scoring. And now the bullpen is collapsing, with only Cade Smith being reliable for Cleveland last in games.

By the way, that’s a 66-game span, which is 40% of the regular season. That’s not a slump, that record over that span shows a bad baseball team.

Cleveland’s front office said they wanted to lean on the organization’s young hitters to provide offense in 2026 after the Guards made the playoffs a year ago despite the 29th ranking offense in the game. That sounds like a good thing, right? But depending on all young players is tough because they tend to have many more ups and downs than a veteran.

And that’s why a priority should have been to get a veteran bat or two to help ease the transition.

Offensively, the Guardians did get two bats at the trade deadline in Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe, and the pair would seem to be the perfect platoon. However, it appears the organization thinks of Adell as an everyday player, and he isn’t very good vs. right-handed pitchers.

The problem is still not enough good hitters in the lineup. The league average OPS is 719. The Guardians have four players above the threshold and one of them is Austin Hedges, which is a complete surprise.

Steven Kwan (.364) and Chase DeLauter (.354) are the only Cleveland players with an on base percentage over .350, and the latter’s slugging percentage of .433 leads the team, which tells you there is no one on the Guardians who can drive the ball.

The organization sent Kyle Manzardo to AAA and his slugging average is 8th on the team, slightly behind Travis Bazzana, Rhys Hoskins, and the recently released Gabriel Arias. Our question here is why does Hoskins stay, while Manzardo, who is tied with him for the team home run lead, get sent back to the minors?

Let us be clear, Manzardo’s swing is messed up, as he is trying to pull everything this season. We wonder who told him to change his approach?

Speaking of approaches, let’s look at Brayan Rocchio, who had a good start to the season. On May 31st, he was hitting .293 with a 789 OPS, hitting mostly in the #9 spot in the order. He had fanned 26 times with 20 walks as of that date and had 4 homers with 27 RBI.

Since then, he’s batted .208 with 39 strikeouts and just 11 bases on balls, and five dingers with 23 RBIs. Did he feel more pressure to provide pop after the injuries to DeLauter, Jose Ramirez, and Angel Martinez? Or was it because the team started hitting him in the middle of the lineup?

He’s batted .232 with a K/BB ratio of 19:4 when batting in the #3, #4, and #5 spots in the order.

Yes, the bullpen is in shambles and frankly, the options to improve it aren’t really there. But don’t think the Guardians’ offense has been saved with the trades made at the deadline. They still don’t have enough good bats.

Guardians Need Bullpen To Get Back To Form Quickly.

Early in the season, Guardians’ starter Joey Cantillo was being brought along slowly. He made 91 pitches in his first start of the season on March 28th in Seattle and then didn’t hit the 90 mark again until May 11th.

There were games when he was doing quite well too. We are thinking particularly of a start against the Royals on May 6th when he allowed just one run in five innings and was removed despite throwing only 70 pitches. Cantillo has not thrown more than 98 pitches in a gane this season.

Slade Cecconi, just put on the injured list, but who has been in the rotation all year, has hit the century mark for a pitch count just once. Parker Messick has done it four times, once because Steven Vogt let him start the ninth inning (and rightly so) because he had a no-hitter. He threw 112 that night.

Tanner Bibee, now in his fourth year in the big leagues has hit 100 pitches, which by the way in an arbitrary mark set by organizations to supposedly limit injuries, only three times this year, and we pulled once while throwing a shutout for eight innings at just 83 tosses.

Only Gavin Williams, who is a large man at 6’6″ and 250 pounds has been given some rope by Vogt and pitching coach Carl Willis, going over the 100 mark six times.

This is probably one reason the Guardians have used only seven starting pitches this season, and went to the All-Star break using just five.

However, for every action there is a reaction. Cleveland has put a lot of burden on the bullpen to win games and right now, the relief corps is leaking a bit of oil.

For example, Hunter Gaddis, who has pitched in over 70 games each of the last two seasons and has been in 45 this year, has allowed six runs in eight innings over the last month.

Lefty Erik Sabrowski was dominant early on, pitching in 25 games by the end of May allowing just four runs in 21 innings (1.71 ERA). He then went on the IL with some elbow tenderness, and since he’s returned has allowed 9 runs in 10.2 innings, and prior to his stint on the IL had fanned 38 with 13 walks.

After coming back, it’s 14 Ks and 9 walks.

The ‘pen’s other southpaw, Tim Herrin has had problem throwing strikes in each of the last two years, Since his tremendous 2024 campaign, where he had a 1.92 ERA with 68 strikeouts and just 25 walks in 65 innings, Herrin has 76 Ks and has issued 53 free passes in 80.1 frames.

And even Cade Smith has shown a bit of wear. Although he hasn’t allowed an earned run in seven appearances since being in the Midsummer Classic, he has walked seven in those outings. Before that, he had walked just 11 hitters.

Only Colin Holderman (45 appearances, 2,22 ERA) has been reliable until last night’s debacle and if the Guardians want to make another playoff run, they need a solid relief group. The struggles made the front office go out and get Craig Yoho from Milwaukee, and he did a good job in two of his three appearances.

Perhaps they can get a boost down the stretch from Franco Aleman or Daniel Espino. The Guardians also just signed veteran lefty Ryan Borucki, who has held left-handed hitters to a 530 OPS in his career.

Maybe Vogt will give the starters a little longer leash over the next two months, but in reality, the Guardians are going to need the bullpen to start putting up some zeroes at the end of games if they want another playoff appearance.