Cleveland Guardians Lead MLB In Potential Season-Saving Category

The Cleveland Guardians currently have the highest team DRS in MLB.

Aug 7, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) fields a ball hit by Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Bell (not pictured) during the third inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians' offensive slide has certainly been a concern over the last few weeks. The bats have gone cold at the wrong time, allowing the AL Central standings to tighten to just a 2.0-game lead over the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals.

The only team with a worse OPS than the Guardians since the All-Star Break is the Chicago White Sox.

How has Cleveland managed to maintain a lead in the division despite these offense shortcomings? It all comes down to their defense.

The Guardians currently have a team DRS (defensive runs saved) of 76, which is the highest in baseball (per Fielding Bible). The Toronto Blue Jays are the only team remotely close to the Guardians with a DRS of 75, and the next team after them is the Milwaukee Brewers, who have a DRS of 65.

It isn't surprising that the Guardians are the best team in baseball in this defensive statistic.

Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan each won Gold Gloves following the 2023 season, and Gimenez was even awarded his first career Platinum Glove. Then there are players such as Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, and Brayan Rocchio, who are all above-average defenders for their positions.

Aug 2, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) fields a ball hit by Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (not pictured) during the fourth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest standout from this team stat is Cleveland's 16 defensive runs saved from behind the plate, which is tied with the New York Yankees for the highest in baseball.

This is all thanks to the work that Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges have done behind the plate. The catching position group has struggled at times at the plate, but they're clearly still providing value to the team with their defense.

A recent example of how the Guardians have used their defense to stay in games came in their 12-inning win over the New York Yankees last Tuesday.

New York's Austin Wells hit a ball to the warning track with a runner on first. Daniel Schneemann misplayed the ball, but the trio of Kwan, Rocchio, and Naylor pulled off a tremendous relay drill capped off by a great tag by Bo to get the runner out at home.

The @CleGuardians team up for this incredible relay to keep the game locked at 3 😤 pic.twitter.com/acOJ0GPO8E

— MLB (@MLB) August 21, 2024

If Trent Grisham scores, the Yankees go up a run heading into the top of the ninth inning. Instead, Cleveland got out of the inning and went on to win the game in extras.

Being the best defensive team in baseball is great, and it's helped the Guardians maintain their lead in the division. However, they have to get back to scoring runs as they want to close out the division down the stretch.