The Cleveland Guardians entered the season with high hopes and expectations.
Even though they made some big moves in the offseason, mostly to shed salary, they were fresh off a deep postseason trip.
However, what they didn’t expect was to be in one of the most, if not the most, competitive divisions in all of baseball.
As pointed out by Nick Camino of WKYC on X, four out of five AL Central Division teams are in playoff spots right now.
If the MLB Playoffs started today, FOUR clubs from the AL Central Division would be in…
Tigers#Guardians
Royals
Twins(These are the AL Wildcard standings.) pic.twitter.com/uGk8F3Kqy8
— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWKYC) May 15, 2025
Only the ever-struggling Chicago White Sox, the team projected to finish the season with the worst record in the league, is out of the playoff picture at the moment.
As things stand now, the Guardians are sitting on a 25-18 record.
They trail the division-leading Detroit Tigers by just 3.5 games, so there’s a strong chance that they will end up passing them and getting the divisional pennant at one point in the foreseeable future.
Of course, that also means they need to keep pushing strongly, as they can’t allow that gap to get much wider.
The Kansas City Royals stand just one game behind the Guardians, with the Minnesota Twins two games behind them.
Not many people thought the Guardians would fare as well as they’ve done so far.
They thought last year’s postseason success was a fluke, especially after watching their once-great bullpen crumble against the New York Yankees.
So far, it’s safe to say that they’ve proved the doubters wrong, and this playoff race will be one for the ages.
NEXT: New Guardians Coach Reveals How He Can Help Roster
