Guardians go into final weekend before Deadline with clear need: Offense

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians’ trade of Bo Naylor and Codi Heuer to the Brewers on Saturday brought two new faces to the organization in reliever Craig Yoho and outfielder Blake Perkins. But neither guy addresses Cleveland’s biggest need ahead of the 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline on Monday.

The Guardians are not done yet. They need help offensively, and they are looking for it.

“We want to improve the offense,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said ahead of Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks. “So if we can find a player or players externally that help us get better, we want to do that. But we need the group that's here to perform better than they have.”

The Guardians’ offensive struggles have been well-documented. They were held to one or zero runs in seven of their first 14 games following the All-Star break and went 5-9 over that stretch. That included Friday’s 4-1 loss to the D-backs, when Cleveland logged three hits and squandered a stellar start by Tanner Bibee.

Entering Saturday, the Guardians ranked last in the Majors in runs per game (3.90) and team OPS (.676). Antonetti said the club is “having a lot of conversations,” while noting the compact nature of the postseason picture has had an effect on things leading up to the Deadline.

“That's made the dynamic a little bit more challenging because there are fewer defined teams that are more future-focused than short-term focus,” Antonetti said. “I still think there will be a lot of trades that happen over the next [two days]. But it's definitely challenging.”

The Guardians have just four right-handed hitters on their active roster in Gabriel Arias, Austin Hedges, Rhys Hoskins and David Fry. While that imbalance is mitigated to a degree by switch-hitters Patrick Bailey, Angel Martínez, José Ramírez and Brayan Rocchio, Cleveland has struggled against left-handed pitching this season.

The Guardians’ .649 team OPS against southpaws ranked 28th in MLB entering Saturday.

The Guardians aren’t limiting their search to right-handed hitters. They can’t afford to, given what Antonetti called a “scarcity” of available options and the number of teams in that market. What’s more, Cleveland ranked 27th in MLB with a .688 OPS against right-handed pitching entering Saturday.

That being said, potential fits whose names have appeared on the rumor mill to varying degrees include right-handed-hitting outfielders Jo Adell (Angels), Heliot Ramos (Giants) and Taylor Ward (Orioles).

While Ward is set to become a free agent this offseason, Adell is under club control through 2027 and Ramos through '29. That could drive up the price for the latter two, but an addition of that ilk would be sensible for the Guardians to gain a piece who can help beyond this season.

Cleveland chose this past offseason to give its young talent opportunity in the Majors, largely in place of adding external pieces to a lineup that also struggled mightily in 2025. Antonetti made clear over the winter the club would have the resources to improve the roster if that plan didn’t work as well as the organization hoped.

That’s the spot the Guardians find themselves in now. They can’t afford to do nothing. They also can’t afford for guys on the roster to not pick it up. Any addition at the Deadline can’t mask the lack of production permeating the entire lineup. The guys already on the roster need to perform for the production to improve.

First baseman Kyle Manzardo logged a .543 OPS over 24 games in July. He hit just 13 home runs and logged a .678 OPS in his first 100 games this season. Rhys Hoskins was the biggest addition of the limited few the Guardians made in the offseason. The veteran clubhouse leader belted a two-run homer in the first inning Saturday. He entered the day with a .176/.310/.370 slash line with 13 homers over 85 games.

Travis Bazzana has had many bright spots and some growing pains as a rookie this season. José Ramírez has been trying to find his power for a large stretch of the season, even before he missed five weeks due to a left hamate fracture.

“I do believe in the group of players that we have, but the results are what they are,” Antonetti said. “We need to play better for the balance of the season than we've played so far. I think it's going to take more than 81 or 82 wins to get to the postseason and win the American League Central.

“We as a group need to play better, and hopefully we can do that over the next couple months.”