Tanner Bibee Believes Guardians Are Due For A Turnaround

The last time the Cleveland Guardians won a series, the trade deadline hadn’t happened. The last time they won consecutive games was almost a month ago, on July 20-21, and they have lost 17 of their past 23 games.

The American League isn’t particularly strong this year, so the Guardians are still just a game-and-a-half out of a postseason spot. Their second-half performance, however, has been baffling and hard to explain.

Tanner Bibee, who tossed a quality start on Sunday but lost for the 13th time this season, believes in his teammates and thinks they are due for a turnaround.

“It’s not really much of a secret that it’s been rough lately,” Bibee told MLB.com. “At the same time, there’s a lot of baseball to be had. The fact that it’s swung so far in one direction, it’s got to swing back in the other.”

Bibee might have a point, as things could certainly swing back in the Guardians’ favor. To increase their chances, however, they need to put themselves in a position to compete consistently.

Cleveland hasn’t always played clean, mistake-free baseball, and that has cost them games. The bullpen hasn’t been particularly effective in recent weeks, and that has been reflected in the standings.

The Guardians’ biggest issue, however, remains the offense. They were shut out again on Sunday, which has happened five times since July 25.

Cleveland remains one of the most unproductive offenses in the majors, despite having Jose Ramirez, several talented rookies, and adding some useful pieces at the deadline. If the Guardians are going to come back in the AL Central and Wild Card standings, it will be because the lineup experiences a renaissance.

It’s not impossible, but it probably won’t happen unless Ramirez is 100 percent healthy and gets into a groove at the plate. Coming back from hamate bone surgery, his current 104 wRC+ is his lowest mark since 2015.

The Guardians have a chance at making the postseason, and yes, there’s still a lot of baseball to play, but time and remaining games won’t matter unless the entire roster steps up as it did last September.