First Step For Guardians Offense? Get On Base!

Baseball is the one major sport that is not governed by time. There is no clock. Games can last for 1:55 or for 4:05. As the great Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver once said, in this sport, you can’t run out the clock.

What is the timing mechanism for baseball? Each team gets 27 outs. It’s not over until they use all of them. If someone ever asks what is better, a 1.000 slugging percentage or a 1.000 on base percentage, the correct answer is the latter.

Slugging 1.000 simply means goes 1 for 4 with a home run, while is a team gets on base 100% of the time, the game never ends.

We point this out because as of today, the Cleveland Guardians rank last in the American League in on base percentage at .297, and if you are not getting on base, guess what you are doing? Making outs.

It’s kind of a trend as well. Last season, the Guardians were 8th in the league in OBP. In 2023, they were 10th. The year prior, it was 6th place, but in ’21, they ranked 13th. In the shortened season, they were 9th.

The last time they ranked in the top five in the AL in this category? That would be 2018, when they had four players who got on base more than 35% of the time: Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley, and Yandy Diaz.

Diaz was traded after that season, and the company line was he didn’t hit for enough power. That was the first time we felt the Cleveland organization did not value getting on base.

If you’ve seen Moneyball, the movie and of course before that the book chronicling the Oakland A’s success without a large payroll, you can certainly remember the scene where Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, talks about players, and if backed up by Peter Brand (really Paul DePodesta) played by Jonah Hill, who keeps repeating “he gets on base”.

Right now, the Guardians have one player with an on base percentage over .350 and that’s Ramirez. Steven Kwan is next at .334, followed by Carlos Santana at .319, Kyle Manzardo at .317 and Daniel Schneemann at .308.

By the way, the league average is .314

In a sport governed by the counting of outs, the Guardians fill their lineup most nights with players who make a lot of them.

We have people who wonder about our obsession with walks, and really, it’s quite simple. If you are drawing a walk, guess what you aren’t doing? Making an out.

Ramirez is 16th in the AL and Santana is 17th in drawing walks, and frankly if Ramirez didn’t feel the responsibility to carry this lineup offensively, he would draw a lot more. He swings at pitches out of the zone because his job is to drive in runs.

Kwan is next and he’s 33rd, and with his knowledge of the strike zone and bat control, that’s too low. He should not have any problem having an OBP over .350.

The top five teams in runs scored in the AL are the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tigers, and Mariners. Four of those teams are in the top five in getting on base, and the Mariners are currently sixth.

So when the Guardians’ front office discusses what they can do to help the offense in 2026, maybe they should call the Browns and get DePodesta on the phone so he can repeat “he gets on base”.

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.

Guards Need To Continue Hot Streak For Another Six Weeks

The Cleveland Guardians are very much in a race for a post-season spot. However, it will not be easy to attain. It may be trite to say, but their chances really hinge on how they play over the next few weeks.

In that time, Steven Vogt’s squad will play several teams who are either in the playoffs as of the moment or have aspirations of getting there. That stretch starts next weekend with a series in Texas, who sit just three games behind Cleveland.

Then comes Tampa Bay, four games behind the Guards, followed by Boston, who is three games ahead of Cleveland and currently in possession of a playoff berth and Seattle, just ahead of the Red Sox.

We are lifelong fans of the Guardians and despite being critical of the team at times (usually directed at ownership), we would like nothing more to see Vogt and the players overcome the odds and play meaningful baseball in October.

Our heart says it’s possible, but our head says it’s not likely.

To us, it feels like this group has succeeded using smoke and mirrors all season long. The team’s won/lost record based on the number of runs they scored and allowed is 57-635, six games below the Guardians’ actual record of 63-59.

That six-game difference would indicate a lot of luck has worked in favor of the team.

We look at the offensive numbers. Despite scoring a lot of runs since their 10 game losing streak, Cleveland still ranks third from the bottom in the American League in runs scored. They are second worst in getting on base, third worst in slugging percentage, and tied for 12th in home runs.

Everyone wants to talk about the pitching factory in Cleveland, and over the years it has churned out a lot of good ones, but this year’s staff isn’t among the best in the league. They rank 8th in ERA, above the league average, but it’s still 3.89. Now, it is kind of jumbled and with a great six weeks to finish, they could rise to as high as 2nd or 3rd, but some of the ancillary numbers aren’t great either.

The Guardians have walked the 4th most hitters in the AL. Control has been an issue for several pitchers, like Gavin Williams, who leads the league in bases on balls, and Joey Cantillo seems to have control issues regularly.

They are around league average in striking hitters out. The one area they have been good is they have kept the ball in the park, allowing the fourth fewest homers in the AL.

The Guardians have already been on a pretty good roll, winning 23 of their last 33 contests. They have 40 games remaining, so can they extend this streak to a point where they win 50 of their last 72?

Again, anything is possible, but they are really going to have to continue to play at the rate they’ve been at since the losing streak for the rest of the season.

We saw the Tigers go 47-28 last season after July 4th. Heck, last year the Guardians won 38 of their first 57 games.

So, it is possible. And we will continue to hope for it to happen. That’s why they play the games, and as Terry Francona (and others) always said, you can only win the game you are playing today.

Yes, the Guardians have played well over the last month or so. The reality is they are going to have to play even better down the stretch, meaning the offense needs more players swinging it, and the pitching staff needs to be dominant.

Let’s all collectively cross our fingers.

With A Tough Stretch Coming Up, Guardians Need These Players To Keep It Going.

There are just 45 games remaining in the Major League Baseball season for the Cleveland Guardians, and the schedule is going to ramp up one more time starting a week from Friday.

Starting with three on the road against Texas, Steven Vogt’s crew will have 20 games in a row against solid opponents. After coming home from the Lone Star state, the Guardians have a six game homestand against Tampa (57-62) and Seattle (66-53 and currently in a playoff spot).

That is followed by a trip to Boston (65-54 and a playoff team) and four in Tampa, before coming home for four more with the Royals (58-60).

Continued success against those teams will bode well for the Guardians heading into the homestretch.

But the team is going to need some contributions from players who either haven’t had an opportunity or haven’t performed up to standards to date. We would like to see these guys step up.

First and foremost, they need Tanner Bibee to start pitching like he did in his first two seasons with Cleveland. His ERA is those two seasons were 2.98 and 3.47. This year, he is a full run worse at 4.60. His strikeouts are down, and his walks are up. He’s already tied his career high of 22 home runs allowed.

Gavin Williams, Slade Cecconi, and even Logan Allen have been pretty consistent for Vogt, but right now, Bibee seems to have that one inning he can’t reel in. If he can give the Guardians four solid starters down the stretch, it would be huge for the rotation and for the bullpen, as he would provide someone else who can get deeper into games.

Erik Sabrowski and Nic Enright are two guys who must continue to pitch well out of the bullpen. Sabrowski got a late start to the season, but since being activated has a 1.15 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 15.2 innings, allowing just eight hits. With Tim Herrin struggling in 2025, Sabrowski has become the left-hander Vogt leans on late in games.

The only other lefty, Kolby Allard is more of a long man, an innings eater. He’s been very effective (2.63 ERA in 48 innings), but we would guess the skipper doesn’t want him in a high leverage situation against the opponents’ best left-handed hitter.

Enright, a righty, has a 1.96 ERA over 23 innings, and is gaining the manager’s trust in late innings.

With Hunter Gaddis not pitching at the level he did a year ago, and Emmanuel Clase under suspension, these two guys have to continue to do well out of the Cleveland bullpen.

We saved the most difficult thing for last, another bat to step up. C.J. Kayfus has made an impact in his brief time here but needs to keep it going. He already has five RBI, one less than Johnathan Rodriguez (in 42 less plate appearances) and the same number as Austin Hedges.

He also has four extra base hits, the same number as Will Wilson and Jhonkensy Noel had with the team.

But they could use someone else to contribute regularly. Vogt has been platooning Daniel Schneemann and Angel Martinez in CF and having success, and Brayan Rocchio is hitting .293 (737 OPS) over the last 28 days.

Having those trends continue could pay big dividends in this upcoming stretch.

Too Bad Ownership Didn’t Believe In This Year’s Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians have come roaring out of the All-Star break. winning 14 of their 20 games, and they’ve won 9 of their last 10, including a three-game sweep of the Mets on the road.

Steven Vogt continues to say his team is resilient and that’s an understatement. After a 10-game losing streak at the end of June, most people thought this team was done, but Cleveland has put together a 21-7 record since then.

Yes, the schedule got easier, but don’t forget, in addition to the sweep in New York, the Guardians also took all three games against the division leading Astros too.

Vogt has this team believing in themselves. It’s too bad the front office, and we mean ownership here, didn’t share that feeling.

The Guardians made two moves at the trade deadline, and both were basically done to shed salary. dealing the balance of the $10 million owed to Shane Bieber and the rest of the $6 million owed to oft-injured reliever Paul Sewald.

To be fair, neither pitcher had helped the Guardians to date, and the front office did net a solid prospect for the former Cy Young Award winner, and much like last off-season, highly paid players were moved and very little salary was picked up in their place.

Cleveland did sign reliever Carlos Hernandez, who was DFA’d by the Tigers. FYI, he’s making $1.16 million this year.

The point is this team, which as of today, sits just a half game out of a playoff spot, and has closed the gap behind the division leading Tigers to six games, didn’t get any help at the deadline, and they still need some added offense and the bullpen could’ve used another arm, especially with the suspension of Emmanuel Clase.

We have seen a lot of statistics talking about the Guardians’ offense since the losing skein and how it ranks among the best in baseball since then. However, it is still the third worst in the AL, ahead of just Chicago and Kansas City.

In that span, they’ve also faced three of the worst pitching staffs in the game, the A’s, Orioles, and Rockies. They also have only three batters with OPS+ over 100 in Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Kyle Manzardo, although Daniel Schneemann is very close at 99.

They finally called up C.J. Kayfus from AAA and he has helped so far, but he had only 23 at bats.

And let’s not forget the team still has Nolan Jones on the roster, and his playing time seems to be shrinking.

Not doing anything to help the relief corps after the Clase suspension might wind up being a bigger problem. Even with Hunter Gaddis not pitching like he did a year ago, you had to feel good if Cleveland had a lead after six innings with Gaddis, Cade Smith, and Clase ready to go.

To their credit, Erik Sabrowski (1.15 ERA, 23 K in 15.2 innings) and Nic Enright (1.96 ERA in 23 innings) have done well, but again, it still wouldn’t have hurt to get some relief help.

We would like to imagine that Vogt has a poster of Paul Dolan in the clubhouse and instead of tearing a piece of Rachel Phelps’ clothing off, they do something to it after every win to show the owner he should have had faith in the team.

That isn’t true, but it shows again that profits mean more than wins to Dolan. Oh, and by the way, 1948.

Guardians’ Starting Pitching With Surprises

The strength of the Cleveland Guardians’ organization is developing pitchers and even in a up and down 2025 season, that has still been the case.

They are hovering around the .500 mark with an offense that ranks near the bottom of the American League in most statistical categories, but the pitching staff still has an above average ERA at 3.87, compared to the league average of 4.04.

However, how they have got there is a different story. We all know that one of the starters, Luis Ortiz, acquired from the Pirates over the winter has been out for about two months now under an MLB investigation.

If not for a case of food poisoning, Tanner Bibee would have been the Guardians’ Opening Day starter, but because he couldn’t go, Ben Lively took the mound. Unfortunately, Lively went down with an elbow injury that needed Tommy John surgery following his start on May 12th.

You can make the argument that Bibee has been the most disappointing pitcher on the team, non-suspension related. His hits/innings pitched has increased by a hit per game from a year ago, and his walk rate is also up while his strikeout rate is down, and his ERA is up over a run per game from last season.

He’s also giving up a ton more homers. Last year, for the entire season, he allowed 22 long balls. This year, he ranks 6th in the AL allowing 21 of them, and 13 of those have been with men on base.

We aren’t giving up on Bibee, but he needs to get back to throwing more strikes, getting ahead in the count more often and keeping the ball in the park.

Gavin Williams was the #2 starter, and by and large, he has been solid this year with a 3.33 ERA, a number which drops to 2.92 since May 1st. He’s only allowed 95 hits in 116.1 innings with 117 strikeouts.

His problem? Walks. He leads the AL in that negative category. Besides putting men on base, it limits how long he can stay in games. We have always thought Williams has the look of a #1 starter, and we still think that. If he can command the strike zone better, the Guardians have an anchor for their rotation.

And then we have Slade Cecconi. We made fun of Cecconi’s numbers in Arizona, where he compiled a 6.06 ERA, and because he was the return for Josh Naylor, who of course hit 30 HR and knocked in 100 for the Guards last year.

But to date, we were wrong. First, Cecconi is kind of a throwback in that he doesn’t strike out batters, but lately just keep inducing weak contact. That has allowed him to pitch at least six innings in his last five starts, allowing three runs or less in four of them.

He’s only fanned more than five in one of his last seven starts. We understand that irritates the new age fans who only value strikeouts, but if he keeps doing what he’s been doing over the last six weeks, he will be quite fine.

The great Bill James said a good pitcher allows less hits than innings pitched and strikes out twice as many hitters as he walks. Cecconi has done that. You know who else has? Logan Allen.

Allen seems to still have people irritated by his poor season a year ago (5.73 ERA), but that number is down to 4.06 this year and he has given Steven Vogt six innings per start since the beginning of June. He’s been solid and for a 4th starter, that’s not bad.

The starting pitching has still been good even though the guy who was supposed to be the anchor, Bibee, hasn’t pitched up to his standards. At the worst, these guys keep the Guardians in the game, which isn’t easy considering the offense output of the team.

Much Like The Off-Season, Inactivity Is The Word For Guards’ Front Office

The trading deadline came and went. The Steven Kwan rumors were hot and heavy. Ultimately, the Cleveland Guardians pretty much stood pat on Thursday, and the inaction confused us.

First of all, even with Emmanuel Clase now suspended, the Guardians were still just 2.5 games out of the third wild card spot in the American League. Yes, losing Clase was a blow, not only to the team, but because he was reported to be a huge trade chip, but still, it’s not as though the bullpen didn’t have depth. They could and can stay in the race without their closer.

We continue to reiterate the Guardians biggest problem is their offense and really, it dates back to last season. The front office did nothing to address this problem and that’s what makes the deadline a frustrating one to us.

The Guards did make two moves, trading Shane Bieber, who has been out all year recovering from Tommy John surgery last year, to Toronto, for the Blue Jays’ fifth ranked prospect in right-handed pitcher Khal Stephen, who has spent most of the year at the Class A level, but was recently promoted to AA.

He is currently on the IL with what is reported to be a minor shoulder issue.

In 17 starts in the minors this season, he has a 2.06 ERA with 99 strikeouts and just 18 walks in 91.2 innings. Considering Bieber hasn’t pitched with Cleveland this year, and if he pitched well, he would most certainly decline his option for next year, you can’t fault the front office for the move. It’s a solid return.

They also traded reliever Paul Sewald to Detroit for a player to be named later or cash. He’s been hurt of most of the season and reportedly the Tigers picked up the contract. It’s the kind of move the Guardians’ ownership loves to make.

When 28-year-old right-hander Carlos Hernandez was designated for assignment by the Tigers, the Guardians did sign him. He has struggled this season with the Phillies and Detroit, pitching to a 6.69 ERA, and in his career has a 5.17 mark.

Control has been an issue for him with 144 walks and 262 Ks in 292.2 career innings pitched. Hopefully, the Guardians’ pitching coaches can work their magic.

Both moves saved money, but management didn’t use the savings to help the current roster. The same formula we saw last off-season.

So, Guardians’ fans will get to see the same putrid offense they have seen all season long, filled with players who have below average OPS.

They did call up prospect C. J. Kayfus (finally) yesterday. Between appearances at Akron and Columbus this season, the left-handed hitter hit .300/.390/.539/930, with 14 HR and 54 RBI.

Johnathon Rodriguez was sent back to AAA. He didn’t show much again, but the move seems to make a bigger logjam on the roster, which has been a problem all year.

Kayfus is a first baseman but has been getting time in the outfield at Columbus. This gives Steven Vogt three options at 1B/DH in Carlos Santana, Kyle Manzardo, and Kayfus, and another player on the roster who can only DH in David Fry.

His options in RF are Kayfus and Nolan Jones, both left-handed hitters. He also has a catcher he definitely has to pinch-hit for in any meaningful late game situation in Austin Hedges.

That’s tough on him.

Again, this was created by the front office when they signed Santana in the winter. They knew about Manzardo’s position inflexibility and Fry’s injury situation then.

Hopefully, Kayfus provides an offensive spark these last two months, because despite the inaction at the deadline, the schedule isn’t difficult in August, and the Guardians should still be in contention on Labor Day.

There were bats that could have helped on the market. Randal Grichuk isn’t great, but he’d be an upgrade in the outfield. So would Mike Yastrzemski. Both went to the Royals.

Oh yeah, the Royals are owned by John Sherman, remember him?

Will Guardians Take Easier Path Again?

It appears it is a foregone conclusion around baseball that the Cleveland Guardians will be sellers at today’s trade deadline. More of that speculation came about after the suspension of closer Emmanuel Clase on Monday.

Look, it is easier to teardown a team that build it up. And it’s an easier decision for the front office to justify. They simply use the reasoning that they didn’t feel the team was a World Series contender, so that decided to trade assets in order to get younger players.

The Guardians, by and large, are already a young team. Among the position players, they are about league average, but that is skewed by having 39-year-old Carlos Santana on the roster, and to a lesser extent, 32-year-old Jose Ramirez.

So, if Santana were replaced by say a 25-year-old player, the Guards would be among the 10 youngest teams in the sport among position players. And their pitching staff is already the most youthful in baseball.

The question is why the Clase suspension has anything to do with a decision of not trying to make the playoffs this season? Let’s say the Guardians were currently in the third wild card spot and the relief pitcher got injured, would they sell then?

We identified Clase as the best trading chip for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff about a month ago. Mostly, because Cleveland has some depth in the bullpen, despite the blow-up on Monday from Cade Smith and to a lesser extent, Hunter Gaddis. We felt they could have received an MLB ready hitter and another prospect at the least.

The question remains how the Guardians improve their offense without Clase as a trade chip? Apparently, the front office is looking at moving Steven Kwan but would have to get the proverbial “offer they can’t refuse” to move the two-time All Star.

We also speculated about a Kwan deal about a month ago because he fits the profile. He has not signed a presumably club friendly contract extension and he has value.

Here’s one thing we don’t believe people think about, and they need to think about it from Kwan’s (or any player’s) perspective. You played on a team that went to the ALCS a year ago and made the decision to decrease the payroll. Would you sign an extension to play with that organization?

There’s only one Jose Ramirez.

Remember two years ago when the Guardians dealt Aaron Civale and then Josh Bell at the deadline. Yes, we know they received Kyle Manzardo for Civale, and he’s one of the three players who can hit on the current team.

But Antonetti and Chernoff had to fly to Houston after those trades to calm down a clubhouse that was upset by the moves, since the Guardians were still very much in contention. Reportedly, Josh Naylor was very upset.

The tougher move is to try to get in the tournament. And we know by looking at the past, that at least five of the players currently on the Guardians’ top ten prospect list won’t pan out.

The front office should be willing to move one or two to acquire a bat that can help the 2025 team, which is made up of a bunch of guys who were three games away from the World Series a year ago.

And once again, let’s remind everyone, 1948

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.