The Cleveland Guardians are going through some tough times at the moment, which isn’t unexpected considering Chase DeLauter, Angel Martinez, and Jose Ramirez all got hurt within about an hour of one another last week. Cleveland is fighting to avoid a sweep at the hands of the pesky Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday afternoon before heading off to Houston for three games with the Astros as the next stop on this nine-game road trip.
Cleveland now also finds itself dealing with a viable foe standing in its way of a third consecutive AL Central crown. The Chicago White Sox have been playing great ball during a tough stretch of their schedule even with Munetaka Murakami on the shelf, so the pressure is on for the Guardians to find a groove before some of the aforementioned banged-up stars get back.
The Athletic’s Zack Meisel recently calmed some of the concerns and offered a broader perspective during an appearance on The Ken Carman Show. Meisel stressed that Ramirez won’t be out too long and reminded everyone that the American League is wide open at the moment.
“Jose is not out for the year. It’s not just the AL Central, it’s the entire American League. The Yankees are the No. 1 seed. I know they swept the Guardians in Cleveland. That didn’t look like a team head and shoulders above Cleveland. This is not the big bad Yankees we’ve seen in years past. Aside from them, there’s no reason why the Guardians can’t be the 2 seed. They just have to stay afloat here and fend off the White Sox. They are entering a softer part of the schedule. That will help. I think it’s a good time to get some fresh blood from Triple-A and inject life into the offense,” Meisel said.
"Jose is not out for the year. (Yankees) didn't look like a team head and shoulders above Cleveland. Aside from them, there's no reason the Guardians can't be the 2 seed. They just have to stay afloat."
📞@ZackMeisel says despite the injuries and recent struggles, the Guardians… pic.twitter.com/55qFuge6PX
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) June 18, 2026
The Guardians were dead and buried late last season before going on a tear to swipe the AL Central from the Detroit Tigers in the last weekend of the season was remarkable. As it stands, the team shouldn’t be in a position to have to do that again, but this time period with three of the team’s best hitters on the shelf could be the determining factor.
This organization does a great job exemplifying the “next man up” mentality, and at the moment, David Fry, Daniel Schneemann, and Gabriel Arias are the next men up. Arias recently came back after raking in Triple-A during a rehab assignment and both he and Schneemann have shown promising early returns filling in for Ramirez.
Meisel is correct. This isn’t the time to panic, but this is also a time where it would be nice to see the Guardians be aggressive and make a big splash well ahead of the trade deadline to provide some relief. The AL truly is wide open and this is the time for the Guardians to push the chips into the pot.
NEXT: Insider Sees Bigger Role For Gabriel Arias Moving Forward
