Cleveland Guardians Should Have Seen This Collapse Coming

The Cleveland Guardians are collapsing before our eyes, but it should not come as a surprise.

Aug 22, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) reacts during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians are on the verge of a monumental collapse, and it's one that they should have seen coming all along.

On Wednesday night, the Guardians will look to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the surging Kansas City Royals, who hammered Cleveland in the first three games of this pivotal series to draw even with the Guardians for first place in the AL Central.

Cleveland had a nine-game lead in this division back in June. It has now completely evaporated, and the Royals even own the tiebreaker. Heck, the Minnesota Twins are also two games behind the Guardians in the loss column.

So, what has happened to Cleveland against Kansas City?

Essentially, all of the team's problems have reared their ugly heads simultaneously.

The Guardians' starting pitching has been abysmal. They aren't pitching. Their extraordinary bullpen appears to be getting taxed.

Everything is happening all at once, and while Cleveland was comfortably treading water all season long, the Guardians have now dipped beneath the surface and are fighting for their lives.

Cleveland had a chance to address its glaring issues at the trade deadline. It decided to take the easy route by acquiring outfielder Lane Thomas and starting pitcher Alex Cobb, the latter of whom had not thrown a pitch since last season.

Needless to say, the Guardians' moves have backfired. Thomas is hitting just .145 since joining the club. Cobb made two starts before hitting the injured list due to a broken fingernail.

To be fair, the trade market was relatively thin, but other teams managed to improve while Cleveland made a couple of the most inconsequential moves.

Yes, Thomas has had fine seasons in the past, but he wasn't exactly lighting up with the Washington Nationals before arriving this year. And yes, Cobb has historically been a solid pitcher, but injuries had kept him sidelined all season long.

The Guardians relied far too heavily on luck and the rest of their division playing middling baseball through the first several months of the 2024 campaign. But now, Cleveland's luck appears to be drying up (just look at what has happened to Steven Kwan), and the AL Central has turned up the heat. Heck, even the Detroit Tigers are making a push.

And now, it's too late for the Guardians to make any significant adjustments. The power surge of rookie Jhonkensy Noel has certainly helped, but his heroics have been essentially nullified by the horrific struggles of Kwan and most of the rest of the lineup.

Remember how great David Fry was early on? He has gone missing. Josh Naylor had a .712 OPS in July and has managed a meager .682 OPS thus far in August.

As for the historically great bullpen? Five of Cleveland's relievers have now appeared in 60 games or more. They are starting to get burnt out. As a matter of fact, the Guardians no longer have the best bullpen ERA in baseball. That title now belongs to the Milwaukee Brewers, who recently swept Cleveland.

The Guardians have a ton of issues. They have one of the worst starting rotations in baseball. Their lineup is incredibly thin. Their bullpen is overworked.

Cleveland has gone just 39-41 since its 36-17 start. More recently, the Guardians have floundered to a 24-32 record since peaking at 51-26 in June.

And the worst part of it all is that the Royals seem to be firing on all cylinders at the right time.

There is still a month of baseball left to play, but it isn't looking good for a Cleveland squad that may be running out of gas.