The Cleveland Guardians have lost seven of their last nine games after dropping the opener against the Detroit Tigers on Monday with an 8-2 final score.
The bats have been silent for a couple of weeks, and starting pitching remains thin and not particularly good.
Despite these situations, Cleveland has a four-game cushion ahead of both the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.
Yes, they lead the division despite an unproductive lineup (in recent games) and their aforementioned starting pitching issues.
The Twins and Royals are both coming, though, and to remain competitive and hold on to that first place, the Guards will need to make moves this week.
The trade deadline is a week from now, on July 30, and there are lots of holes to fill.
President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti will have a lot of work to do.
Cleveland isn’t always active come this time of the year, but there might be good news to come in the upcoming days, at least according to Guardians insider Zack Meisel.
“Insider predicts the Guardians will make “multiple trades” before next week’s deadline,” Cleveland Baseball Insider tweeted.
Insider predicts the Guardians will make "multiple trades" before next week's deadline. https://t.co/rGzDDPhqYh
— Cleveland Baseball Insider (@CBI_FanNation) July 23, 2024
Per the article, published by SI.com, Meisel said that “conversations are fluid and that the front office is well aware that the team needs some upgrades.”
On this site, we recently went through some pitchers and hitters that could make sense for the Guardians ahead of the deadline, but there are plenty more.
If Cleveland brings in a couple of solid starters and maybe an outfielder or a shortstop, they could be well-positioned to fight for the pennant and, why not, a bit more.
This roster is good enough to invite fans to dream, but it does need a few upgrades.
NEXT: Guardians Drop Series Opener To Tigers; See AL Central Lead Shrink
