The Cleveland Guardians had an incredible run down the stretch to swipe the AL Central crown away from the Detroit Tigers, but the season came to an ironic conclusion in the AL Wild Card round as the Tigers eliminated the Guardians.
It wasn’t the ending fans hoped for, but the Guardians showed plenty of promise for the future.
Analyst Bruce Drennan recently explained how he gave up on the Guardians before they pulled off their historic feat, thanks to the injection of youth that could pay dividends next year and beyond.
“I had counted them out before the All-Star break. I said they were through, they were out, they didn’t even qualify for the wild card, let alone win the division. Are you kidding me? They staged the greatest comeback in major league history. … I have said all season long, they’re a year away. Now, we got [Chase] DeLauter to look forward to next year. [Travis] Bazzana to look forward to next year. [Juan] Brito to look forward to next year. Let alone [George] Valera, and all these young guys. [C.J.] Kayfus, and [Kyle] Manzardo with a couple of years under his belt, let alone [Steven] Kwan and [Jose] Ramirez and the pitching. I think the future is incredibly bright for the next few years,” Drennan said.
Bruce said it all season long for the #Guardians, they're a year away. Is next year THE YEAR for them? #GuardsBall
"I had counted them out before the All-Star break." pic.twitter.com/5MsYLZTyOm
— Bruce Drennan Show (@Bruce_Drennan) October 7, 2025
With how bad Cleveland’s offense was all year, it’s clear there is an opportunity for these young hitters to solidify themselves and keep the team heading in the right direction.
The Guardians had to fight tooth and nail to scrape across three or four runs in a game, and the team waited a long time before finally calling up some of the exciting prospects who could help fix the issue.
DeLauter, Valera, Kayfus, Bazzana and others could potentially play every day next season, which would go a long way toward getting the offense to a respectable level.
It would have been nice to end the season on a better note, but this organization is on the way up.
NEXT: Analyst Predicts How Much Longer Dolans Will Own Guardians
