A national analyst thinks the AL Central race is about to tilt Cleveland’s way.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer picked the Guardians as a team to watch in the second half of the 2026 regular season, and he didn’t stop at a casual hunch. He made the case that Cleveland can catch Chicago and win the division, leaning on two things he believes will matter most: starting pitching and the return of Jose Ramirez.
“The Cleveland Guardians will win the AL Central. On the flip side, we need to talk about pitching.
And specifically starting pitching, which the Guardians have and the White Sox don’t. This has become especially apparent in June, wherein Cleveland’s starters have a 3.58 ERA to Chicago starters’ 5.55 ERA.
And just as the White Sox will get Munetaka Murakami back after the break, so too with the Guardians get Jose Ramirez back from a hamate fracture,” Rymer wrote.
That pitching edge has been built on consistency. Cleveland has rolled with the same five starters since Opening Day, and that stability has helped produce one of the better rotation ERAs in the American League this month. Chicago’s situation has been much less settled, and that kind of contrast tends to matter when a division race is still tight at the halfway point.
Ramirez, though, may be the bigger swing factor. Before his hamate fracture, the Guardians were 39-33 with him in the lineup.
Since he went down, they’ve gone 5-7. That split makes the point plain enough: his bat changes the shape of this offense, and getting him back in the next few weeks could be the jolt Cleveland needs to make up ground.
Rymer’s prediction doesn’t rest on Ramirez alone, but it does capture the logic behind a Cleveland push. If the rotation keeps doing its job and Ramirez returns the way the Guardians expect, the gap in the standings could start shrinking fast.
In Other News...
Josh Naylor's Ugly Guardians History Just Took Another Turn
Kyle Manzardos go-ahead homer on Sept. 16 gave the Guardians a late lift, and Josh Naylor was right there at home plate celebrating the moment with his teammate. It was a reminder of the kind of energy Naylor has brought since arriving in Cleveland in 2020, even as his time with the club has been defined by more than just big swings and loud celebrations.
There has also been no shortage of friction along the way, and a recent on-field exchange with Austin Hedges only added to the sense that the relationship has not always been smooth. The tension traces back through a roster shuffle that sent Aaron Civale away in the deal for Manzardo and included the move of Josh Bell, leaving Naylors place in the organization feeling more complicated than it once did. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Slide Sends A Worrying Message During Jose Ramirez Absence
The Guardians have spent the last stretch trying to keep their footing while key injuries pile up, and the latest reminder of that strain has shown up in the standings and in the national power rankings. With Jose Ramirez sidelined, Chase DeLauter and Angel Martinez also working back from injuries, Cleveland has dropped in Bleacher Reports latest rankings and now sits a game behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
It is the kind of slide that feels bigger than one bad week because the division has tightened around them. Cleveland went from holding a half-game edge on June 13 to chasing from behind now, with Minnesota also hanging close, and the Guardians need some stability before the absence of Ramirez starts to define the race for them. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Injury Update Just Raised The Stakes Against Texas
The Guardians and Rangers head into Tuesdays matchup in Texas with the kind of pregame uncertainty that tends to shape a late-June series. Cleveland is still trying to sort through its roster health while preparing for a marquee pitching duel, with Tanner Bibee lined up against Jacob deGrom in a game that already carried plenty of weight before the injury news started to pile up.
For Cleveland, the timing matters because every lineup decision feels amplified when the opposing starter can change the tone of a game by himself. The projections point to a close one and even hint at a higher-scoring finish than you might expect, but for the Guardians the bigger question is whether they can absorb the absences, stay competitive early, and keep themselves within striking distance against a Texas club that has a little more room to lean on its top-end arms. [Read more 🡒]