The Cleveland Guardians entered last season fresh off a trip to the ALCS. Even so, given their roster, not many people thought they would be able to replicate that type of success.
The season was a bit of a roller coaster, and it didn’t seem like they were going to make the playoffs. Then, they rallied in the second half of the campaign to overcome a historic 15.5-game deficit to win their division.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean this team is all set. If anything, they need to find the right pieces to put around their strong foundation and be even better for years to come.
With that in mind, Deesha Thosar of FOX Sports shared her honest thoughts on what the Guardians need to address in the offseason. Unsurprisingly, she wants to see them spend some money to fix their offense:
“Biggest need: Offensive boost,” Thosar wrote. “The Guardians’ 3.9 runs per game this year were ranked 28th in MLB, better only than the Rockies and Pirates. And they still finished first in the division! Even so, for a lineup led by Jose Ramirez, who is consistently one of the game’s best hitters, outscoring only Colorado and Pittsburgh is preposterous. ‘Guards Ball,’ or similar to the contact-driven style of offense we saw from the Toronto Blue Jays in their loud run to the World Series, works better when there is some level of consistent power involved. And, like the Jays, it would help if the Guardians doubled their payroll.”
The Guardians thrived in the second halves of games. They were swift and aggressive against bullpens, and they won plenty of contests with late-game heroics. However, that’s simply not sustainable over time, and it wasn’t much of a surprise to see their lack of firepower catch up to them so early in the playoffs.
The fact that they chose to get Chase DeLauter on the roster and make him make his MLB debut in the postseason speaks volumes about their level of desperation. They can’t afford for that to happen again.
Of course, they’re not going to go after Pete Alonso or Kyle Schwarber. Even so, it’s pretty clear that they need to add some firepower.
NEXT: Guardians Named Perfect Landing Spot For All-Star Pitcher
