The Cleveland Guardians need to shake things up.
Just when it seemed like they were ready to make a run, they fell flat again.
They took three out of four from the Detroit Tigers to close the gap at the top of the AL Central.
Then, the Guardians failed to keep the ball rolling, and they’ve lost 12 of 18 games since then.
Notably, plenty of that has to do with their offensive struggles.
As Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com points out, the Guardians aren’t getting much from players not named Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez or Steven Kwan.
“The problem is that Santana, Ramírez and Steven Kwan aren’t getting enough help from the rest of the roster. A lack of offense, more than anything, has been the Guardians’ biggest problem this year. But the offense has been a problem since Opening Day. The Guardians are averaging 3.9 runs per game. Last year they averaged 4.4 runs per game for the season, and 4.8 runs per game at the All-Star break. Among the 15 teams in the AL, the Guardians rank 12th in runs and 11th in home runs,” Hoynes wrote.
Daniel Schneemann and Kyle Manzardo have had some solid games, but they have yet to step forward and deliver night in and night out.
The Guardians are doing most of their damage against opposing bullpens, but they can’t bank all their hopes on getting hot late in games. They also need to figure out a way to get to starting pitchers.
This team has gotten close to nothing from its outfield other than Kwan.
The trade deadline is looming large, and the Guardians need to figure out whether they will be buyers or sellers.
The team hasn’t been known for being aggressive at the deadline, but this year could be the exception.
They’re not that far behind in the race for an AL playoff berth, and there’s still time to turn things around.
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