The Cleveland Guardians were shut out by Eduardo Rodriguez and the surging Detroit Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.
They look like a shell of the team that won 92 games in 2022 and even defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in a postseason series.
Injuries, of course, have been a problem, but the most glaring issue with the Guardians is their mediocre offense.
In fact, mediocre would be a nice way to put it if we go to the numbers.
“Up-to-date Guardians MLB offensive ranks: Total Bases: Last (400), Runs: Last (126), HR: Last (19), RBI: Last (115), OBP: Last (.297), SLG: Last (.325), OPS: Last (.622), AVG: 29th (.221), Hits: 28th (272),” Cleveland.com’s Hayden Grove tweeted.
Up-to-date Guardians MLB offensive ranks:
Total Bases: Last (400)
Runs: Last (126)
HR: Last (19)
RBI: Last (115)
OBP: Last (.297)
SLG: Last (.325)
OPS: Last (.622)
AVG: 29th (.221)
Hits: 28th (272)#Guardians— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) May 10, 2023
That’s just sad, and hard to believe from a team that has perennial MVP candidate Jose Ramirez, 2022 MVP candidate Andres Gimenez, slugger Josh Bell, and 2022 breakout star Steven Kwan.
Offense was not the team’s forte even last year when they reached the AL Division Series, but the unit was, at least, competent and productive.
That hasn’t been the case in 2023 so far.
Max Muncy and Pete Alonso, each with 12 home runs, are one hot streak away from getting dangerously close to the number of round-trippers hit by Cleveland in the entire season.
The Guards are last in runs scored, RBI, total bases, OPS, slugging, and many other offensive stats.
Something has to give.
At least they are still not that far out from first place: their 17-20 record puts them just 2.5 games behind the AL Central leaders, the Minnesota Twins.
Cleveland should contend all year, but they need to do something about that offense, and they need to do it now.
NEXT:
Guardians Decide To Demote A Notable Veteran