The Cleveland Guardians are climbing back into the conversation in the American League Central, and a weekend sweep helped push them up the power rankings.
Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller moved Cleveland from No. 15 to No. 12 after the Guardians took care of the Miami Marlins and carried that momentum into the All-Star Break. The jump comes after a stretch in which Cleveland has been hanging around the middle of the division race, even while dealing with a lineup missing Jose Ramirez, who fractured his left hamate bone on June 13.
Pitching has been the backbone all season. Cleveland owns the eighth-lowest team ERA, and that staff kept the club afloat while the offense waited for its big bat to return. In the meantime, other pieces have had to pick up the slack.
Chase DeLauter has done exactly that since rejoining the lineup on June 28, giving the Guardians a jolt with the way he’s been clobbering the baseball. Travis Bazzana has also been productive in his first season, adding another encouraging development for a team trying to stay in the mix.
The Guardians needed a response after dropping a three-game series to the Minnesota Twins early last week, and they got it by sweeping Miami over the weekend. That finish sent them into the break with some momentum, even if the offense still wasn’t fully clicking.
As Miller wrote, "We noted in last week's power rankings that the Guardians had gone six consecutive weeks with a .500 record or worse. Well, they finally got off that schneid by sweeping what had been a scorching hot Marlins team, ending the first half on a four-game winning streak.
The offense was still lacking, scoring five or fewer runs in all six games this week. But the starting rotation was on point, especially Joey Cantillo making two starts with a combined 16 strikeouts and just one earned run allowed."
That’s the balancing act for Cleveland now: the pitching has done enough to keep the club alive, but the lineup will need to get going after the break if the Guardians are going to push themselves into real postseason contention. With the trade deadline coming, they’re set up to be one of the more interesting teams to watch.
In Other News...
Former Guardians Starter Just Hit A Brutal New Low
Aaron Civales season has gone from uneasy to ugly, and the latest move only underscores how far things have fallen for the former Guardians starter. After landing with the Athletics, he was already trying to find his footing on a pitching staff that has been in flux, and a recent shakeup around the club has only added to the sense that nothing is stable right now.
Civales struggles have been a mix of poor results and bad health, with a rough run since coming back from the injured list and an earlier shoulder issue that knocked him off track in late May. For Cleveland fans who remember him as a dependable part of the rotation, seeing him get pushed into this kind of uncertainty is a stark reminder of how quickly a pitchers value can change when performance and injuries both start piling up. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Fans Know Exactly The Deadline Move Cleveland Rarely Makes
With the trade deadline drawing near, the market for impact bats has already started to thin, and that has put a premium on players who can do a little of everything. Spencer Steer has fit that description for Cincinnati this season, moving around the diamond while giving clubs a look at a bat that could help against left-handed pitching. For Cleveland, a player like that naturally stands out because he could help smooth over some of the lineups rough edges at first base and left field.
The bigger question is whether the Guardians would be willing to pay the kind of price that usually comes with a useful, controllable hitter this time of year. Cleveland has been careful about preserving prospect depth, and with several teams showing interest, any pursuit would likely come with real competition. That is where the deadline gets tricky for this front office, because the fit is easy to see, but the cost is the part they rarely rush to meet. [Read more 🡒]
One New Deal Just Changed The Guardians Conversation On Bazzana
Travis Bazzanas rise has already put the Guardians in a familiar spot: weighing how aggressively to lock up a young player before the price keeps climbing. After appearing in the 2026 MLB All-Star Game, Bazzana joined Chase Burns as one of just three members of the 2024 draft class to reach that stage, which only sharpened the attention on how Cleveland might handle its own long-term planning.
Burns new seven-year deal with Cincinnati has added another layer to the conversation, giving clubs around the league a fresh example of how quickly a top young talent can be secured. For the Guardians, the question is no longer just whether Bazzana fits into their future, but whether the timing and structure of a deal can be worked out before the market, and the sports labor picture, make the decision even more complicated. [Read more 🡒]