The Cleveland Guardians are still very much in the race, sitting just half a game behind the Chicago White Sox as they chase a third straight division title. With two games left this weekend before the teams meet again in a pivotal three-game series next week, the margin is razor-thin.
Chicago’s grip on the AL Central has started to loosen. The White Sox rolled through May at 18-10, but the production has leveled off since then, with 13-12 marks in both June and July, a 14-14 record in August, and a rough 3-7 start to September. It hasn’t been one dramatic collapse so much as a slow slide, and the last 12 games have only made that more obvious, with Chicago winning just three times.
That doesn’t mean the White Sox are out of this. They’re still a talented team and could certainly hang on to the division, or even be a postseason club in 2026. But they’ve shown enough cracks lately to keep Cleveland within striking distance, and the Guardians did trim the gap to half a game on Friday.
Cleveland’s own path back into this thing has been built on two units finally doing enough to stabilize the team. The rotation has had its issues beyond Parker Messick and Gavin Williams, and that has led to some frustrating losses over the past couple of weeks. But the bullpen and the offense have picked up the slack.
The relief corps has been especially sharp. From September 1st through Thursday, Cleveland’s bullpen worked 44.1 innings and posted the second-best ERA in the league at 1.83. On Friday, it added 3.2 strong innings behind Messick, giving up only one run and keeping the game within reach long enough for the lineup to answer.
That offense has been the bigger reason the Guardians have stayed dangerous. For the full season, Cleveland ranks 26th in baseball with a 95 wRC+, but the group has played much better since the All-Star break, climbing to 14th with a 98 mark. Since the day after the trade deadline, August 4th, the numbers have been even steadier, with a 100 wRC+ that puts them 14th in that span as well.
A few hitters have helped spark that turnaround. Steven Kwan, Travis Bazzana, and Brayan Rocchio have started to work out of their slumps, while Jose Ramirez is still being affected by his injury. Even so, other names like Chase DeLauter and Jo Adell have stepped in and given Cleveland the kind of production it needed to keep the chase alive.
In Other News...
Stephen Vogt Is Giving Guardians Fans One Less Thing To Worry About
Stephen Vogt has quickly given Guardians fans a stabilizing presence in the dugout, and a recent Bleacher Report analysis backed up what has been easy to see from the outside. Even amid the ups and downs of the season, Vogt has drawn praise for the way he has handled a roster that continues to ask a lot of him, especially on the pitching side, while keeping Cleveland in the postseason conversation.
For a fan base that has already had enough to monitor on the field, the manager situation is not one of the concerns. Industry opinion has settled in on Vogt as one of the safest bets in the game when it comes to job security, and that matters for a club trying to keep its footing in a tight race. The bigger question now is whether that stability can help the Guardians turn a solid year into something more. [Read more 🡒]
Tanner Bibee Is Creating An October Decision Guardians Fans Didn't Expect
The Guardians pitching picture looked a lot clearer after the front office added Foster Griffin before the trade deadline, giving Cleveland seven healthy options to work with as the calendar turns toward October. Even so, Tanner Bibee remains one of the names most likely to stay in the postseason mix, a reflection of both how much trust the staff still has in him and how much the club values his ability to take the ball and work deep into games.
That is a little different from where Bibees stock seemed to be when he first emerged as a possible ace. His recent regression, marked by a higher ERA and more home runs allowed, has made the conversation more complicated than many expected. But in a playoff race, reliability matters, and Bibees experience could keep him in the rotation even as Cleveland weighs a crowded group of healthy arms. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Bullpen Decision Puts Stephen Vogt In A Late-Season Spot
The Guardians made another late-season bullpen tweak, optioning Franco Aleman to Triple-A Columbus and bringing Conor Brogdon back to the major league roster. It is the kind of roster move teams make when every inning starts to matter a little more, especially when recent performances have forced a hard look at who can be trusted in leverage spots. Aleman had been struggling, and the club decided it needed a different look as the schedule tightens.
Brogdon gives Cleveland a familiar option, since he has major league experience and has already moved between Columbus and Cleveland this season. For Stephen Vogt, the decision adds another layer to a bullpen that is being managed carefully with critical games ahead, and it leaves the Guardians continuing to sort out which arms can steady the back end when the margin for error gets thin. [Read more 🡒]