After hitting 27 home runs in 2025 for the Cleveland Guardians with a .768 OPS and 1.2 fWAR, Kyle Manzardo has become a liability this season. He got off to a horrible start, experienced a renaissance in May and June, but is once again struggling badly in July.
For the 2026 campaign as a whole, Manzardo is sporting a subpar .657 with just 10 home runs and a negative -0.3 fWAR. That’s not exactly the kind of year Cleveland envisioned from their young first baseman.
Both Manzardo (87) and Rhys Hoskins (99) are below the league-average value of 100 for hitters according to wRC+. The situation is virtually forcing the Guardians to go to the trade market and bring in an upgrade.
Manager Stephen Vogt, however, insists on having some patience with Manzardo. We all saw what he can do last year, and the skipper is a believer in his long-term qualities.
“He’s been struggling a little bit, but we know with Manzo, there’s no one in the big leagues that can get hotter. Manzo’s one swing away from getting hot,” Vogt said. “It’s a little bit of a tough stretch for him, but we’re all confident that Manzo’s going to get back to being Manzo.”
Manzardo is hitting a putrid .109/.212/.130 with a .342 OPS in July. No, that’s not OBP: it’s OPS. He has been abysmal this month, just like he was in April.
The Guardians know he is talented, but they might not be able to put up with his inconsistent hitting for long, not if they want to put the most competitive roster out there every night.
At some point, Manzardo will need to step up and start hitting again, because elite teams can’t wait forever. Fans were already turning on Steven Kwan, a modern franchise legend, for his horrible first half before he started hitting again in recent weeks.
At the end of the day, results are going to dictate Manzardo’s future with the Guardians. The potential is there, as we have all seen it, but he needs to be more consistent if he wants to be in the team’s long-term plans.
NEXT: Rhys Hoskins Raves About Guardians' Bounce-Back Win
