The Cleveland Guardians’ offense has been a disappointment in 2025, with only Jose Ramirez and, at times, Kyle Manzardo and Steven Kwan living up to expectations, while the rest of the lineup has struggled to generate any sort of consistency.
The offensive ineptitude was apparent in the first half when Cleveland was shut out 11 times, including five times during a 10-game losing skid right before the All-Star break, which has all led to one former player recently expressing a major concern.
While speaking on The BIGPLAY Cleveland Show, Jensen Lewis said that this team just flat out has not been able to hit, as evidenced by the fact that the Guardians have the lowest batting average in baseball at just .227.
“They’re 28th in OPS. They just have not been able to slug. They have not been able to hit and get into extra-base scenarios. They have not been able to hit the ball out of the ballpark. Bottom-third in home runs all year long. Last year, they were able to overcome some of the inefficiencies of that starting rotation when you had an elite bullpen like they did. Much different scenario that they’ve had to encounter for most of 2025,” Lewis said.
The Guardians have the worst batting average in baseball… does that matter?
"They just have not been able to slug. They have not been able to hit."
–@JLEWFifty explains #GuardsBall
Presented by @nefdirect! Get a discount on any item with this form: https://t.co/hE2TsKlAkm pic.twitter.com/0PGEHp2svO
— BIGPLAY Cleveland Show (@BIGPLAYCLEshow) August 21, 2025
Cleveland also ranks 28th in slugging percentage and ranks in the bottom third of the league in doubles, homers, and walks.
No matter how you look at it, this offense hasn’t been good enough to compete, yet the Guardians are still somehow just three games back of a playoff spot.
It’s frustrating because this was the obvious area for needed improvement in the offseason, and all Cleveland did over the winter was trade one of its best hitters in Josh Naylor, without adding any impact bats to make up for it.
The entire outfield has been a collective dud outside of Kwan, leaving the door wide open for youngsters such as C.J. Kayfus and Chase DeLauter to emerge and hopefully solidify themselves as fixtures in next year’s lineup.
Time is running out, and if the Guardians are going to close the gap and make another playoff run, this team has to find a way to start hitting.
NEXT: Bo Naylor Reveals Big Adjustment To His Swing
