Angel Martinez’s start to the 2026 ALDS has been rough enough to make anyone blink twice, but the Guardians still ought to run him out there in left field tonight.
The line is ugly. Martinez is 0 for 12 with seven strikeouts, and he has spent most of the series chasing and missing.
He has gone 0 for 4 with runners on base and stranded eight baserunners, three of them from third base. That’s a brutal offensive profile, and the -100 wRC+ matches what the eye test says right now: he’s not helping the Guardians at the plate.
Even so, there’s a strong case for patience. Martinez was one of the hottest hitters in baseball from August through September, posting a 152 wRC+ with a .310/.346/.510 slashline.
That kind of stretch doesn’t disappear overnight. The path back is straightforward, too: stay patient, make pitchers come into the strike zone, and be ready to attack when they do.
If he can draw even one walk or work even one early full count, he gives himself a chance to do damage in this series.
The alternative options don’t offer much more punch. Stephen Vogt could shuffle the lineup and try Adell in right, DeLauter in left, with Nate Lowe at DH and David Fry at first base, or flip things around another way and get Travis Bazzana into the DH spot with Angel Genao at second.
But the players behind Martinez are not exactly loaded with offensive upside. Daniel Schneemann, Petey Halpin, Angel Genao and David Fry all come with limits at the plate.
Genao showed some solid contact ability yesterday, Halpin brings defense and speed, Fry’s struggles over the season are already well known, and Schneemann has a career wRC+ under 80.
That’s why Martinez still makes sense here. He offers the best chance to hit the ball with authority in this role, and the Guardians need whatever impact they can squeeze out of the lineup. The time to add another bat has passed.
There is, of course, a point where this changes. If the Guardians are somehow back here Friday after a win and Martinez is sitting at 0 for 16 with 10 strikeouts, then the conversation shifts.
At that stage, with the playoff pressure clearly sitting on him, a breather might be the right call. But that’s not the situation today.
Today is win-or-go-home, and the question isn’t whether Martinez has been cold. It’s whether there’s a better risk to take.
There really isn’t.
So the Guardians should let him take another shot. Martinez has done it all season long, and he has seen these pitchers plenty.
The message is simple: lay off the bad pitches, trust the zone, and be ready to jump. One good swing can change the feel of all of it.
In Other News...
Guardians Face A Costly ALDS Dilemma Beyond Just The Rotation
The Guardians ALDS picture has plenty of moving parts, and the biggest ones are not limited to who starts which game. As the series has unfolded, the club has had to think through roster balance, how much pitching it wants to carry, and how the front office and players are viewing the broader landscape around MLBPA contract talks. It is the kind of October problem that goes beyond a single matchup and forces a team to weigh short-term survival against longer-term flexibility.
Gavin Williams added another layer to that conversation with a new role in Game 4, since his first big league relief outing also marked his first time pitching out of the bullpen since college. Cleveland is trying to manage the present while leaving enough options open for what comes next, including the possibility of deeper October decisions if the run continues. And with future labor questions looming in the background, the Guardians are dealing with more than just the usual postseason chess match. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Look Dangerous Thanks To One Deadline Gamble
Clevelands offense has gone from quiet to relentless at exactly the right time, and the sudden surge has the Guardians sitting one win from the ALCS after taking Games 3 and 4 from the White Sox. Both of those victories came with nine runs on the board, a striking answer from a club that had been searching for the kind of timely thump that changes a postseason series in a hurry.
Jo Adell, brought in as a recent deadline addition, has been right in the middle of it, giving Cleveland a jolt that has changed the feel of the lineup over just two games. His arrival now looks like the kind of move that can reshape October, and the Guardians will carry that new edge into the next game with a chance to finish the job. [Read more 🡒]
Jose Ramirez May Have Just Saved Cleveland At The Perfect Time
Jose Ramirez has spent much of the season searching for the version of himself Cleveland has leaned on for years, and in Game 4 of the ALDS he finally gave the Guardians a reminder of why he matters so much in October. After working through pain since hamate bone surgery and enduring a difficult offensive stretch, Ramirez kept showing signs of life across the first two playoff games and then added another jolt in a 9-5 win over the White Sox.
The biggest swing came in the fifth inning, when his two-run homer flipped the game and helped Cleveland protect its season for at least one more night. With the series now headed to a decisive Game 5 at Progressive Field, the Guardians suddenly have reason to believe Ramirez may be heating up at exactly the right time, and that changes the feel of everything around them. [Read more 🡒]