4 Massive Concerns For Cleveland Guardians In Midst of Awful Slump

The Cleveland Guardians have a lot of things to worry about as their slide continues.

Aug 22, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan (38) reacts after grounding out against the New York Yankees during the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians are in freefall at the moment. What once seemed like an almost insurmountable lead in the AL Central has dwindled to just one game with the surging Kansas City Royals hot on the Guardians' heels. The Minnesota Twins are in the mix, too.

A whole lot of everything has gone wrong for Cleveland in recent weeks, which has some wondering if the Guardians have any chance of making a legitimate World Series run this October.

Since starting 36-17, Cleveland has gone just 37-38. So, the Guardians have basically been a .500 team for two-and-a-half months. More recently, they are 22-29 over their last 51 games.

Can Cleveland right the ship as the pennant race heats up heading into September?

Here are four massive concerns for the Guardians as the MLB regular season winds down.

What has happened to Steven Kwan?

Earlier in the season, Steven Kwan was chasing .400. Now, in late August, finishing with a batting average of less than .300 is firmly on the table.

After hitting .350 in March and April, .471 in May (he only played five games that month due to injury) and .374 in June, Kwan has fallen off a cliff.

The All-Star outfielder slashed .250/.286/.380 in July, and thus far in August, he is slashing .200/.297/.300.

On June 19, Kwan was hitting .397. His average has since dipped to .306 as he regresses more and more toward his career average of .288.

Last year, Kwan slashed .268/.340/.370. Maybe that's more the type of hitter he is? Whatever the case may be, the 26-year-old needs to get things sorted out, and soon. The man is batting .149 over the last two weeks.

Will Lane Thomas wake up?

The Guardians acquired Lane Thomas in a trade deadline deal with the Washington Nationals, hoping that the outfielder would bolster their rather thin lineup.

Instead, Thomas is posting numbers that makes the much-maligned Will Brennan look like Aaron Judge by comparison. In 20 games since joining Cleveland, Thomas is slashing .111/.197/.159. That's good for a .356 OPS.

Thomas was hitting .253 with a .738 OPS in Washington prior to the trade, so it's hard to quantify what exactly has gone wrong for the veteran with the Guardians.

Is it the pressure of playing in a playoff race? Is he simply not adjusting to his new surroundings? Or has he just gone into a horrifically bad slump at the worst possible time?

Whatever the case may be, it would really behoove Cleveland to see Thomas actually do something productive at the plate.

How much will the Guardians get from Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb?

It took Alex Cobb all of two starts with the Guardians before hitting the injured list. It was due to a broken fingernail, but still.

Meanwhile, Matthew Boyd looked serviceable in his first start, but was hit pretty hard in a recent loss to the New York Yankees.

Cleveland added both Boyd and Cobb midseason two bolster its ailing starting rotation in spite of the fact that neither player had thrown a pitch since last year.

Shane Bieber is out for the season. Carlos Carrasco is on the injured list. Logan Allen and Triston McKenzie were both sent down to the minors. The Guardians really need to get some consistent starts from at least one of Boyd or Cobb, or else they can kiss their World Series hopes—and potentially even the AL Central division title—goodbye.

Is the bullpen getting burnt out?

The Guardians have one of the best records in baseball thanks largely in part to their dominant bullpen, which has been nails most of the year.

However, Cleveland's has finally begun to start showing some cracks. The dam hasn't completely busted, but some kinks in the armor are there.

Even Cade Smith proved mortal in the Guardians' loss to the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

The problem is that Cleveland's bullpen has been heavily taxed thanks to the team's starting pitchers being unable to pitch deep into games.

Six of the Guardians' relievers have tallied over 55 appearances. Two of them have already hit 60, and another two are at 59 heading into Saturday's action.

There is still well over a month of regular-season baseball left to play, which makes you wonder just how much longer Cleveland's bullpen is going to hold firm.