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New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Guardians second-half storylines: Trades, prospects and José Ramírez
CLEVELAND — Remember Cody Bolton? No? He made a two-inning appearance for the Cleveland Guardians in late April, a few weeks after the club claimed him off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. It's easy to forget certain names and faces during an unrelenting marathon of a baseball season. Late last season, as Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was reflecting on the accomplishment of a division title, he noted how many players contributed throughout the journey. He even mentioned pitcher Wes Parsons. Go ahead, look it up. Yep, Parsons tossed four scoreless innings for the Guardians in April 2024. Then he disappeared. No one would blame you if it slipped your mind. That's the nature of a 162-game race. Advertisement The All-Star break grants everyone — well, aside from the All-Stars — a chance to catch their breath, to ruminate on the first half and to ponder what's to come. This is the week to pause and to recall that Dom Nuñez spent a week on Cleveland's roster, or that Will Wilson pitched two innings, or that Triston McKenzie broke camp as a member of the big-league bullpen. As for what's next, well, here are three storylines to monitor in the second half: Oh, the irony of Kyle Manzardo's slugging a key three-run homer off Aaron Civale in the Guardians' final game before the break. Cleveland swapped out Civale for Manzardo at the trade deadline in 2023, a season reminiscent of the 2025 season. They dealt Civale at his peak for a consensus Top 100 prospect. Civale could be traded again this month; he's already been traded twice since the Guardians traded him. In 2023, they hemmed and hawed about whether to buy or sell or stand pat. They were hovering around the .500 mark, and they feared a daunting second-half schedule. Ultimately, they traded Civale, Josh Bell and Amed Rosario in a series of moves that upset many in the clubhouse and preceded a late-summer slumber. Here they are again in a similar scenario. The Guardians might be one of the more fascinating teams to follow over the next two weeks. As they bid to reassert themselves in the wild-card race, they encounter perhaps the softest stretch of their season schedule. They took three of four against the Chicago White Sox last weekend, and now they'll host the Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, play the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City and then welcome the Colorado Rockies to Progressive Field before the July 31 trade deadline. Many teams are trying to crack Cleveland's code and gain a better sense of its trade deadline motivations. They might have to wait. It would be much clearer if the club didn't rebound from a 10-game skid with a 6-1 trip through Houston and Chicago. The Guardians have Shane Bieber on the mend (which could come in handy with Luis Ortiz's future in jeopardy, another storyline to monitor). They have Chase DeLauter and C.J. Kayfus on the cusp. They believe there's more output for Manzardo, Lane Thomas and Nolan Jones to supply. They also stumbled through an inconsistent first half with a rancid offense. Advertisement Most of all, teams want to know whether they can pry away closer Emmanuel Clase or left fielder Steven Kwan. That seems doubtful, especially Kwan. The Guardians could seek a taker for impending free agents such as Carlos Santana or Thomas. They could also seek upgrades in the outfield, middle infield or bullpen. They're in a strange spot, where it might not make sense to push hard in either direction. There's a case to be made for buying and selling. There's a scenario in which they do neither. How they fare coming out of the break might factor into the equation. So much conversation has surrounded DeLauter, his health and his extended stay in Columbus, but there are plenty of other prospects to keep tabs on the rest of the summer. If the Guardians move Santana at the deadline, that would clear a spot for Kayfus, who has earned a look. The team would prefer him at first base instead of promoting him to try to handle right field, where he's been a work in progress. This has turned into something of a lost season for Juan Brito because of injuries, but there's still hope he can return from a hamstring strain, knock rust off at Triple A and then get a taste of the majors before the end of the season. Travis Bazzana, last year's No. 1 pick, is working back into game shape in Arizona after missing nearly two months with an oblique strain. Can he play his way up to Triple A before the end of the year? Will Parker Messick earn a start or two to get familiar with a big-league routine? The Guardians would love an opportunity to call upon him later this season for a doubleheader, the way they welcomed Doug Nikhazy to the majors in April. Will catcher Cooper Ingle force his way to Triple A? It's a long shot, but is there a way for him to snag a September call-up so he can shadow Austin Hedges and spend time with a coaching staff full of former catchers, as Bo Naylor did in 2022? Advertisement Do we agree Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh are the clear-cut favorites to finish first and second in the AL MVP race? OK, cool. How about third place? Ramírez emerged as an everyday player in 2016, and here are his MVP finishes each year since: 17th, third, third, none, second, sixth, fourth, 10th, fifth. That's seven top-10 finishes in the last eight years. It's six top-six finishes in the last eight years. It's three top-three finishes in the last eight years. Can he add to each of those totals in 2025? Here's his primary competition: Even as he speeds toward his 33rd birthday in September, Ramírez is on pace for a career-high 50 stolen bases. He's flirting with a .300 average. He's on pace for 30 homers. He rarely strikes out or gets nabbed trying to steal. He has rebounded from a rough start to the year defensively. In other words, he's up to his usual tricks. In all likelihood, he'll find himself somewhere in the middle of most voters' ballots, as he always does.
New York Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
How the Guardians can climb back into contention in the American League
CLEVELAND — As of Sunday evening, FanGraphs assigned the Cleveland Guardians a 10.7 percent chance of snagging a playoff berth. Those are the 11th-best odds among the 15 teams in the messy, crowded American League. So you're saying there's a ch— it's not going to be easy. Only the Chicago White Sox and Athletics are really, truly out of the wild-card race. The Orioles have been mired in the AL East basement for a while and, rightfully, seem like soon-to-be sellers, but even they're only a few games behind the Guardians. Advertisement There's time to make a move, though. So, let's ignore those playoff odds for a moment and chart a path back to legitimate contention for the 46-49 Guardians. Oh, well, that seems easy enough. The Guardians own the 28th-best OPS in the league, ahead of only the White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates. Beyond All-Stars José Ramírez and Steven Kwan, their next most dependable hitter is … Kyle Manzardo? After that, um, Nolan Jones, maybe? Carlos Santana? This shouldn't be so difficult to answer. The lineup has been begging for some fresh blood for weeks. For this exercise, that can't remain the case. The Guardians have been playing at a self-designed disadvantage. Even if Chase DeLauter and/or C.J. Kayfus endure a rocky transition to the majors, they'd still offer more of a threat at the plate than, say, Will Wilson or Johnathan Rodriguez have (assuming DeLauter checks out OK this week once he's evaluated for wrist soreness). The upside, on the other hand, is that the Guardians have better answers to the prompt above. If they have to move on from Santana to create space for a big league-ready prospect, that might be beneficial both in the present and future tenses. Santana has a .688 OPS and 40 birthday candles to blow out next spring. Steven has the second half in his crosshairs.#GuardsBall | #GuardiWWins — Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 13, 2025 So, find a role for DeLauter or Kayfus, and start plotting how Juan Brito can help in September. Give daily opportunities to Manzardo and Jones, and anyone else finding a rhythm. Pray that Lane Thomas can get healthy and find his old ways. And, hey, don't be afraid to get a head start on the offseason to-do list and survey the market for a controllable hitter this month. After all, it's not like they're magically going to arrive at spring training in 2026 with nine everyday starters ready to form an offensive juggernaut. Advertisement This is a front office that, no matter the team's position in the standings, likes to entertain such a trade. In 2021, for instance, as they shipped out César Hernández, Jordan Luplow and Eddie Rosario, they tried to convince the Pirates to hand over Bryan Reynolds. Instead, they acquired Myles Straw. Whoops. It's looking like a mid-August return for Bieber, who is scheduled to start in the Arizona Complex League on Tuesday. If he avoids further setbacks (and assuming he opts out of his 2026 option), the Guardians will pay him $14 million for, oh, about eight starts. If they can tack on some postseason assignments to his workload, they'll deem it a sufficient investment. The rotation has carried this team for weeks, and that must continue. Since June 1, Cleveland's rotation ranks fifth in the majors in ERA. Slade Cecconi has flourished. Gavin Williams has taken steps forward. Tanner Bibee, the de facto ace entering the season, has the highest ERA in Cleveland's rotation, though he has expressed confidence in recent weeks that his output will improve the rest of the way. If Bieber can deliver anything close to what Matthew Boyd provided last year upon his return from Tommy John surgery — and if Luis Ortiz doesn't set foot in Progressive Field again in 2025 — a quintet of Bieber, Bibee, Williams, Cecconi and Logan Allen should be solid enough. In this scenario, there's no Emmanuel Clase trade, because the Guardians need to lean on their bullpen the way they did last season. Contenders have been inquiring about his availability, and the Guardians could mull whether it's worth flipping him for some future lineup help. But in this exercise, the club can claw back into the race in part by delaying a potential Clase trade until winter, when he'll still have three years of team control remaining. Advertisement No, instead, the Guardians would keep Clase for the summer and fall and trust that he, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith can repeat their dominance from a year ago in the second half. Of course, those are unfairly lofty expectations; the 2024 bullpen was historically proficient. This is where the loss of Andrew Walters to season-ending surgery, Franco Aleman's Triple-A struggles and Tim Herrin's inconsistency are proving costly. All three were intended to provide mid- or late-inning insurance this year. Instead, there's been a lot of Matt Festa. Cleveland's lineup isn't talented enough to fuel the team to frequent lopsided wins, so if the Guardians are going to get on a roll, they'll be regularly summoning their top relievers to protect narrow leads. They need more than three consistent relievers for that sort of task. Nic Enright and Erik Sabrowski deserve more opportunities to gain entry to Stephen Vogt's circle of trust. Paul Sewald, now healthy, will factor into the equation. This team, however, could still use another arm in high-leverage situations, whether a more efficient Herrin or Joey Cantillo, or even an outsider. (Don't look up Trevor Stephan's Triple-A stats if you have a sensitive stomach.) It wouldn't be the worst idea to scour the relief market and see if anyone piques their interest, either a rental who wouldn't cost anything substantial, or a long-term option (think the Royals' acquisition of Lucas Erceg last summer) who could stick around if Clase is dealt over the offseason. They rebounded from their 10-game skid with a strong road trip through Houston and Chicago to close the half. Now it's time to flex their muscle against what should be inferior competition. They have three against the Athletics, four against the Orioles, three at the Royals and three against the Rockies to close out July. Can they go 9-4? There are winnable series in August, too, against the Twins, White Sox, Marlins, Braves, Diamondbacks and Rangers. And, sure, those same teams are noticing the Guardians on their schedules and thinking, 'Hmm, here's a chance to win a series against a feeble opponent.' But all the Guardians have to do is follow this foolproof plan, and they'll make those clubs feel foolish for underestimating a team that toyed around in the first half only to turn it on when it matters most. They'll force them to watch as they speed past the Royals and Rangers and Twins and Angels and Rays and Mariners and anyone else standing between them and a ticket to October. What could go wrong? (Top photo of Steven Kwan (38) and José Ramírez: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kwan drives in go-ahead run in 10th, makes sliding catch in bottom half as Guardians beat White Sox
Chicago White Sox's Chase Meidroth, bottom, scores on a one-run single by Austin Slater as Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor looks to the field during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Cleveland Guardians' Kyle Manzardo, left, rounds the bases as he celebrates with first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. after hitting a three-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase celebrates after his team defeated the Chicago White Sox in a baseball game in Chicago, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan hits a sacrifice fly during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan hits a sacrifice fly during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Chicago White Sox's Chase Meidroth, bottom, scores on a one-run single by Austin Slater as Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor looks to the field during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Cleveland Guardians' Kyle Manzardo, left, rounds the bases as he celebrates with first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. after hitting a three-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase celebrates after his team defeated the Chicago White Sox in a baseball game in Chicago, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan hits a sacrifice fly during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) CHICAGO (AP) — Steven Kwan knocked in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning and made a sliding catch to help prevent a run from scoring in the bottom of the inning as the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 6-5 on Sunday. Kwan's fly off Brandon Eisert (2-2) scored automatic runner Angel Martínez. Kwan covered a lot of ground in left field and made a catch just inside the foul line on a fly ball by Mike Tauchman leading off the 10th. Advertisement Kyle Manzardo hit his 15th homer — a three-run shot off Aaron Civale, the player he was traded for in June — to cap a four-run sixth and give Cleveland a 4-3 lead. Brayan Rocchio doubled with one out and scored on a force out by José Ramírez for the first run. Austin Slater hit his fourth home run, a leadoff shot off Joey Cantillo in the fourth, to put the White Sox ahead 1-0. Michael A. Taylor's sac fly and Slater's RBI single extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth. Andrew Benintendi hit his 11th home run, a solo shot off Cantillo, to tie it at 4 in the sixth. Kwan drew a walk in the eighth off Grant Taylor, took third on a single by Nolan Jones and scored on Ramírez's sac fly for a 5-4 lead. Advertisement Edgar Quero doubled in the eighth and pinch-runner Will Robertson scored on Luis Robert Jr.'s two-out double to tie it 5-all. Cantillo allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts. Closer Emmanuel Clase (5-2) didn't allow a hit in the final two innings as Cleveland won three of four in the series. Key moment Civale allowed only a bunt single by Rocchio through the first five innings before two hits and two walks led to the four-run sixth. Key stat The all-time series between the AL Central rivals is even at 1,130-1,130, with 17 ties. Up next After the All-Star break, the Guardians host the Athletics and Chicago is at Pittsburgh, both on Friday. ___ AP MLB:
Washington Post
7 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Manzardo has tiebreaking HR, Kwan adds 2 RBIs as Guardians beat White Sox 6-2
CHICAGO — Kyle Manzardo hit a tiebreaking home run and All-Star Steven Kwan drove in two runs to help the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2 on Saturday. Manzardo's solo shot in the sixth off reliever Jordan Leasure (2-5) gave the Guardians a 3-2 lead and helped Tanner Bibee secure his first win since May 22. Kwan had a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and he and Jose Ramirez added RBI singles in the ninth as Cleveland won for the fifth time in six games. Bibee (5-9) gave up two runs and six hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Erik Sabrowski, Cade Smith and Matt Festa combined for 3 1/3 perfect innings to finish it. Carlos Santana had an RBI single in the first and scored on Angel Martinez's sacrifice fly in the fourth to give the Guardians a 2-0 lead. Rookie Kyle Teel had a two-run single for the White Sox to tie 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Sean Burke allowed Cleveland's first two runs, along with three hits, two walks and five strikeouts in five innings. The White Sox have dropped five of seven. Twenty-three players and 2005 manager Ozzie Guillen were on the field before the game to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the club's last World Series title. Chicago Archdiocese Cardinal Blase Cupich presented first baseman Paul Konerko with a No. 14 jersey autographed by Pope Leo XIV, a native of the city's suburbs and longtime White Sox fan who attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. The White Sox had four straight singles in the fifth, third of which tied the score. Bibee recovered with a strikeout of Colson Montgomery and got Josh Rojas to ground into a double play that ended the inning and kept it tied. Ramirez won't play in Tuesday's All-Star game but still looked the part Saturday. He went 1 for 3 with two walks, and RBI, runs scored and three steals. Guardians LHP Joey Cantillo (1-0, 3.79 ERA) faces White Sox RHP Aaron Civale (1-6, 5.17) on Sunday. ___ AP MLB:
Hamilton Spectator
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Manzardo has tiebreaking HR, Kwan adds 2 RBIs as Guardians beat White Sox 6-2
CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Manzardo hit a tiebreaking home run and All-Star Steven Kwan drove in two runs to help the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2 on Saturday. Manzardo's solo shot in the sixth off reliever Jordan Leasure (2-5) gave the Guardians a 3-2 lead and helped Tanner Bibee secure his first win since May 22. Kwan had a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and he and Jose Ramirez added RBI singles in the ninth as Cleveland won for the fifth time in six games. Bibee (5-9) gave up two runs and six hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Erik Sabrowski, Cade Smith and Matt Festa combined for 3 1/3 perfect innings to finish it. Carlos Santana had an RBI single in the first and scored on Angel Martinez's sacrifice fly in the fourth to give the Guardians a 2-0 lead. Rookie Kyle Teel had a two-run single for the White Sox to tie 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Sean Burke allowed Cleveland's first two runs, along with three hits, two walks and five strikeouts in five innings. The White Sox have dropped five of seven. Twenty-three players and 2005 manager Ozzie Guillen were on the field before the game to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the club's last World Series title. Chicago Archdiocese Cardinal Blase Cupich presented first baseman Paul Konerko with a No. 14 jersey autographed by Pope Leo XIV, a native of the city's suburbs and longtime White Sox fan who attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. Key moment The White Sox had four straight singles in the fifth, third of which tied the score. Bibee recovered with a strikeout of Colson Montgomery and got Josh Rojas to ground into a double play that ended the inning and kept it tied. Key stat Ramirez won't play in Tuesday's All-Star game but still looked the part Saturday. He went 1 for 3 with two walks, and RBI, runs scored and three steals. Up next Guardians LHP Joey Cantillo (1-0, 3.79 ERA) faces White Sox RHP Aaron Civale (1-6, 5.17) on Sunday. ___ AP MLB:
