The Cleveland Guardians made it all the way to the American League Championship Series last year.
They also look better right now after making some offseason moves to shore up their pitching staff and lineup.
People continue to sleep on them, though.
In a recent offseason ranking made by Bleacher Report’s B/R Walk-Off, the Guards aren’t a top-four team, as one might believe after they made it to the League Championship Series just three months ago.
They aren’t in the top five, either.
They checked in at the ninth spot instead.
You can see the entire rankings here.
Where all 30 teams rank as of now ⚾️@JoelReuterBR 👉 https://t.co/CKiU7NndXy pic.twitter.com/FZpDFbP8GH
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) January 24, 2025
The Los Angeles Dodgers are first, with the New York Mets, the New York Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the San Diego Padres completing the top five.
Maybe the first four organizations have a legitimate case to be ranked higher than the Guardians, even the Phillies.
Seeing the Padres, who lost many of their players from last year and haven’t made any relevant additions, ahead of Cleveland is rather odd, though.
Likewise, the Guardians look better than the sixth-ranked Baltimore Orioles, who lost ace Corbin Burnes among others.
“The Cleveland Guardians were never going to make an offseason splash—that’s simply not how they operate financially—but they have been busy retooling the roster while shedding some payroll,” they wrote in the article.
They aren’t particularly low on Cleveland; they just seem to like other teams better.
They did praise the addition of Luis L. Ortiz to their rotation and posed the question of who will play second base come Opening Day.
Once again, people are underestimating the Guardians and their ability to make a deep postseason run.
They will have to speak on the field.
NEXT: Guardians Hire Former Ohio State Standout For Triple-A Coaching Job
