Cleveland Guardians Have Brutal Issue In This Important Area

The Cleveland Guardians have a rather massive issue that needs to be addressed.

Sep 6, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) is congratulated by shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians are well on their way to making the playoffs. Barring a monumental collapse over the last several weeks of the regular season, the Guardians will be punching their ticket.

However, that does not mean the team is bereft of issues.

Cleveland obviously has a major issue with its starting pitching, as it lays claim to one of the worst starting rotations in baseball.

But the Guardians also have another very serious problem: offense up the middle.

When it comes to offensive production from catcher, second base, shortstop and center field, Cleveland ranks 27th in baseball. That comes after ranking 26th in that category last season.

So, this has been a running them for the Guardians for quite some time now.

Based on the fact that Cleveland does not have a lot of offensive talent at those respective positions, this does not come as much of a surprise.

Andres Gimenez is a wizard defensively, but he has never been known for his bat. Brayan Rocchio has been a major disappointment, and Tyler Freeman has been a complete bust in center field.

Bo Naylor is a bit more puzzling, as he posted an .809 OPS last year before slashing .209/.273/.370 in 2024. Perhaps the pitchers have simply learned him.

Whatever the case may be, the Guardians clearly have some significant holes offensively, and it has made consistently scoring runs an exercise in futility for Cleveland.

Since starting 36-17, the Guardians have gone a very pedestrian 46-45. What's more, since Cleveland peaked at 51-26 in June, it has gone 31-36.

It's too late for the Guardians to try and rectify these issues now, but they should absolutely make an effort to address the problem areas over the winter.