The Cleveland Guardians are still alive in the AL Wild Card race.
Notably, they might not even need a wild card to make the playoffs, as they could make a push to win the AL Central.
However, they have no margin for error while trying to catch the Detroit Tigers.
That’s why Zack Meisel of The Athletic wants starting pitchers Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee to take their games to the next level for the rest of the season.
“For the Guardians, receiving peak production from Williams and Bibee for the next six weeks would go a long way toward vaulting them to the playoffs. They’re still navigating their paths to the top, though. Williams struggled in his outing Wednesday against the Miami Marlins. Bibee will have a chance to pick him up and reroute his own season Thursday,” Meisel wrote.
The Guardians moved on from ace Shane Bieber at the trade deadline.
However, sending him to the Toronto Blue Jays shouldn’t change the equation for this season, as he didn’t throw a single pitch for Cleveland in 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Though he could’ve been a solid reinforcement, he still hasn’t taken a major league mound this year.
There’s also a chance that the Guardians will get something from John Means at some point, as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery.
Bibee has shown what he’s capable of when he’s at his best, and he vowed to step up in the second half after a somewhat inconsistent first half.
As for Williams, he arguably has been the most consistent starter for this team, but he has to prove himself now that he might be the ace.
This will be a make-or-break stretch for both of them.
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