The Detroit Tigers woke up on Saturday with the best record not only in the AL Central division but in MLB at 46-25.
The 35-33 Cleveland Guardians, on the other hand, are struggling just to remain above .500.
Their offense is mediocre, their rotation is a tad inconsistent, and their bullpen is solid yet not as good as last year.
The result of that mix is, so far, a team that is barely over .500 with more questions than answers.
The gap between the Tigers and the Guardians is now 9.5 games, and Cleveland is running out of time, even though we are not at the season’s midpoint yet.
Bruce Drennan said that Cleveland needs to take it up a notch if they want to catch the Tigers in the standings.
“The Guardians NEED to start making a push or it could be an underwhelming season. “And that’s considering that the Tigers would only play .500 ball,” the Bruce Drennan Show posted on X.
The #Guardians NEED to start making a push or it could be an underwhelming season. #GuardsBall
"And that's considering that the Tigers would only play .500 ball."
Presented by #mentornissan https://t.co/ouNQklEmQD pic.twitter.com/K3tf4EqxiC
— Bruce Drennan Show (@Bruce_Drennan) June 14, 2025
Detroit might be playing a bit above their heads, but they are the best team in the American League at the very least and look much better than Cleveland.
That’s a reality, evidenced by their +84 run differential and Cleveland’s -19.
Even if the Guardians get back Shane Bieber soon, add Chase DeLauter and C.J. Kayfus to the roster, and trade for a proven slugger and another top starter, they would still need Detroit to start losing some games to make up for some of the difference in the standings.
Regardless of the AL Central lead or the Wild Card spots, Cleveland’s priority should be starting to play better, score some runs, and win some games.
The rest will take care of itself.
NEXT: Guardians Dodged A Bullet With Rehabbing Star
