July has arrived with the Guardians stuck in the kind of spot they know all too well: the offense isn’t carrying its weight, the front office has to decide whether to buy or sell, and somehow Cleveland is still hanging around the American League postseason race.
That leaves a handful of hitters in a pressure-packed stretch. The Guardians can still win the division with the roster they have, but the margin for error is shrinking fast. And for several bats, this month could go a long way toward deciding whether they remain part of the picture.
Kyle Manzardo and Rhys Hoskins are at the center of the first-base conversation. The Guardians’ confidence in Manzardo helped open the door to trading Josh Naylor, while Hoskins arrived looking like a strong free-agent addition.
Instead, neither has given Cleveland much production in the first half. Manzardo is hitting .239 with 29 RBI, and he’s only batting .209 over the last 14 days.
Hoskins has been even colder, sitting below the Mendoza Line, with the last month offering little relief. Manzardo still looks unlikely to be moved off the roster, but if both bats stay stuck, an uncomfortable conversation is coming.
Daniel Schneemann is in a different kind of squeeze. He opened the season scorching hot and looked like he was carving out an everyday role, but that has changed in a hurry.
Since the start of May, he’s hit just .161, and the drop-off has cut sharply into his case for steady playing time. His versatility should help keep him on the roster, but the at-bats may dry up.
The situation gets tighter by the day, too, with Kahlil Watson settling in after a slow start, Chase Delauter healthy again, and Cooper Ingle getting his first shot with the big league club. That kind of depth can push someone like Schneemann toward the edge sooner than expected.
Then there’s the old All-Star pair, David Fry and Steven Kwan, whose paths have gone in very different directions since they were headed to Arlington two years ago. Back then, it looked like Cleveland had landed two long-term core pieces.
Since then, Fry has been knocked off course by multiple injuries, and it’s hard to imagine him getting all the way back to the form he showed in 2024. Kwan’s defense is still elite, but his bat has become a real problem in the lineup.
It’s hard to picture either player returning to that All-Star level, but both need to at least prove they can be average major league hitters. The idea of either one sticking in Cleveland for the long haul feels more and more like a fairy tale.
The roster squeeze is only going to get worse when José Ramírez and Angel Martínez come off the injured list, because both will need spots when they return. That’s why the Guardians may soon have to make difficult choices and move on from some familiar names just to create room.
In Other News...
Guardians Have 3 Prospects They Cannot Afford To Trade
The Guardians still control their own playoff fate despite a rough patch, which is why the trade deadline conversation around Cleveland is so tricky. The club has clear needs on offense, in the bullpen and behind the rotation, but it also has one of the deeper farm systems in the game, giving it enough prospect capital to chase help without stripping the cupboard bare.
Ralphy Velazquez, Braylon Doughty and Jace LaViolette are the names that keep coming up as the kinds of young players Cleveland should not put in play. Velazquez has shot up the prospect ladder and now sits near the top of the organizations rankings, while Doughty has impressed at High-A Lake County and continues to look like part of the next wave of pitching. LaViolette took some time to get going, but his recent progress has reminded the Guardians why his upside is still very much worth protecting. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Slide Sends A Worrying Message During Jose Ramirez Absence
The Guardians have spent the last stretch trying to stay afloat while Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter and Angel Martinez work their way back from injuries, and the effects are showing up in more than just the lineup card. Cleveland has slipped in Bleacher Reports latest power rankings, a reflection of how hard it has been to keep pace in the AL Central while key contributors are unavailable.
The standings picture has shifted quickly, too, with the club going from a half-game lead on June 13 to a one-game deficit behind the White Sox. The Twins are still hanging around as well, which makes every missed opportunity feel a little bigger for a Guardians team that needs some help, some health and a little stability before the division race gets away from it. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians May Soon Face Their Toughest Gabriel Arias Decision Yet
Gabriel Arias keeps giving the Guardians reasons to believe in the raw ability, even if the production has been harder to pin down. In a recent game, he flashed the kind of power and defensive range that still make him such an intriguing part of Clevelands roster picture, launching a 429-foot home run and turning in a strong play at third base, the sort of reminder that the tools are very real even as the consistency at the plate remains uneven.
The bigger issue is what all of that means for his future in Cleveland, especially with Jose Ramirez working his way back from hand surgery and the roster picture set to tighten around the trade deadline. Arias has spent time at second base, shortstop and third, yet the Guardians still have not settled on where he fits best long term, which leaves his next few weeks carrying more weight than a typical hot streak or slump. [Read more 🡒]