The Cleveland Guardians lost on Thursday, and their record is now a mediocre 37-36.
It’s becoming clear that the 2025 Guards might not be as good as last year’s version.
That doesn’t mean they can’t contend and even sneak into the 2025 postseason.
Maybe they can even win it all, for all we know.
However, their record and their -24 run differential indicate that their ceiling might not be as high unless they make significant changes or additions.
The biggest problem is that they are already in a seemingly insurmountable hole in the division race.
The Detroit Tigers are 48-28 and Cleveland is 9.5 games behind.
Bruce Drennan was discussing the situation with Nick Pedone and implied he is starting to feel that the Guardians don’t have a chance to take the AL Central for the second year in a row.
“I’m at a point with the team where I’m facing the reality that they are not going to win the division”, Drennan said.
Can the #Guardians still win the AL Central? #GuardsBall
"Coming into this season I really thought that this division was going to be Cleveland and Detroit all the way."
Presented by #mentornissan https://t.co/ouNQklEUGb pic.twitter.com/J5F1VM0wDn
— Bruce Drennan Show (@Bruce_Drennan) June 20, 2025
Pedone agreed, stating that “coming into this season, I really thought that this division was going to be Cleveland and Detroit all the way.”
The reality indicates that Detroit is running away with the division, and they deserve a lot of credit for building a winning culture after some rough seasons last decade.
Again, even if the Guardians don’t win the AL Central, they can still contend and recreate last year’s postseason magic.
To do that, however, they need to get into the playoffs first, and given the competitive nature of the American League, they need to vastly improve their roster to make it happen.
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