The Guardians are still sorting out postseason seeding, but the big picture is already clear: Northeast Ohio is headed for another October to remember.
Cleveland’s own roster has carried plenty of the load, yet the Guardians have also gotten a boost from some familiar names around the American League not living up to their usual standards. That matters in a race like this. When star hitters go quiet, the playoff field gets a little softer.
Here are three rival bats whose down years helped the Guardians’ path.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the biggest example. The Toronto first baseman, who signed a 14-year, $500 million extension last April, followed up an MVP-caliber 2025 with a season that has looked nothing like that level. Entering Friday, he was hitting .263/.335/.360 with nine homers, 56 RBI and a 97 wRC+.
Injuries have been part of the story, and Guerrero missed 15 games. His power has faded, too.
His barrel rate sits at 7.7%, and he didn’t hit his first homer at Rogers Centre until last week. Toronto’s slide ended with the Blue Jays being eliminated from the postseason on Wednesday.
What looked like a bargain last year has felt more like a drag this season.
Kerry Carpenter’s year in Detroit has been defined by a different kind of disappointment. The Tigers outfielder, who has tormented the Guardians since his 2022 debut, was limited to 81 games because of a string of injuries. The latest one knocked him out at the end of July after a left foot issue tied to an extra spike on his cleat bruised his heel and eventually led to plantar fasciitis.
Carpenter entered Friday at .208/.276/.416 with 13 homers, 36 RBI and a 90 wRC+. He has 83 home runs in 447 regular season big league games, plus three more in the postseason, but durability has become a major part of his story. Detroit was never much of a factor in the AL Central, and Carpenter’s absence played a big role in that.
Then there’s Jose Altuve in Houston. A hitter who dominated throughout the 2010s, Altuve has now hit a stretch where Father Time appears to be winning. After a rough 2025 that included some outfield work for the first time in his big league career, he has stayed at second base all season.
That hasn’t translated into much at the plate. Entering Friday, Altuve was hitting .250/.306/.398 with 16 homers, 46 RBI and a 98 wRC+, and he was on pace for his lowest RBI total since 2012. Houston still has a shot at the postseason thanks to its uninspiring battle against the Texas Rangers, but any potential berth would come in spite of Altuve’s production, not because of it.
For the Guardians, those struggles across the league have helped clear the road in the Wild Card chase and made the American League picture a little less crowded.
In Other News...
Guardians Survived A Wild Royals Fight And Kept Control Of The Central
The Guardians walked into Kauffman Stadium and found plenty of resistance from the Royals, but they still left with a 12-9 win and their grip on first place in the AL Central intact. It was the kind of game that had swings throughout, with Cleveland answering Kansas Citys punches and getting important production from Angel Martinez, David Fry and Jose Ramirez to stay in front of the division race.
Gavin Williams did not have a smooth night on the mound, which only added to the tension in a game that kept changing hands. Cleveland will have to keep sorting through the pitching side as the series moves on, with Michael Wacha and Tanner Bibee scheduled to face off in the next game and another chance for the Guardians to protect that narrow lead. [Read more 🡒]
Chase DeLauter Gives Guardians Fans One More Reason To Believe
Chase DeLauter has given Cleveland plenty to like in his first full season in the majors, turning his 2026 campaign into one of the brighter developments in the Guardians lineup. After debuting in the 2025 postseason, he has settled in as a central piece of the offense, leading the club in batting average and OPS while staying on the field for 131 games. For a team that has leaned on steady production all year, his rise has become one of the clearest reasons for optimism.
Now the Guardians are heading toward a familiar late-season question: can they hold onto first place in the AL Central and line up an ALDS berth? If they do, DeLauter will be back in the October spotlight for his second playoff run, but this time with a full season behind him and a much larger role in what comes next. For Cleveland, that combination is exactly the kind of young-core momentum that can make a postseason path feel a little more real. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Bullpen Depth Just Put One Reliever In A Tough Spot
Connor Brogdon cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus after being designated for assignment by the Guardians, a move that quietly underscores how much bullpen depth has changed around Cleveland in recent weeks. Brogdon had spent the first six weeks of the season in the major league relief mix, but injuries pushed most of his year back into the minors, leaving him in a difficult spot as the roster has gotten healthier and more crowded.
Brogdon will stay around the organization for Cleveland's stay ready camp now that the minor league season is over, which gives him a chance to keep working while his immediate role remains unsettled. He is also expected to become a free agent this offseason, so the next stretch may be less about finding a lane with the Guardians and more about proving he still belongs in the picture somewhere. [Read more 🡒]