Major Lessons Guardians Can Learn From Yankees' Miserable Slide

The New York Yankees are mired in a miserable slump, and the Cleveland Guardians should take heed to the reasons why.

Apr 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) turns a double play beside New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino (39) in the second inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Last month, the Cleveland Guardians were chasing the New York Yankees for American League supremacy. Fast forward to mid-July, and the Guardians have left the Yankees in their wake.

While Cleveland has surged to the AL's best record at 57-33 entering Wednesday night's action, New York has plummeted to 55-38, going just 5-16 over its last 21 games.

So, what has happened to the Yankees over the course of the last three weeks?

It's the exact thing that could happen to the Guardians if they aren't careful.

Through the first couple of weeks of June, New York not only boasted the best starting rotation in baseball, but its offense was bludgeoning opponents. The problem was that the bulk of the offensive production the Yankees were getting was confined to three sluggers: Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton.

Well, on June 23, Stanton hit the injured list with a hamstring issue, and New York's offense has been laboring ever since. Judge is still doing his thing, but Soto has fallen victim to a pretty awful slump and is hitting just .184 over the last 14 days and .211 over the last four weeks.

Alex Verdugo, who benefited greatly from having Stanton hit behind him, has fallen off a cliff. The rest of the lineup simply isn't very good.

Does that remind you of the Guardians at all?

While Cleveland has posted decent offensive numbers in 2024, ranking seventh in runs scored, 12th in batting average and 11th in OPS, the vast majority of the Guardians' offensive output has been due to the efforts of Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, Josh Naylor and David Fry (and Fry's production has dipped considerably since the end of May).

Four of the Guardians' regular starters lay claim to OPSes below .700. Three of them are hitting below .220. Aside from Ramirez and Naylor, not a single Cleveland hitter has double-digit home runs.

Now, imagine if one of the Guardians' top batters suffered an injury akin to Stanton in the Bronx. Picture if Ramirez goes on the IL, for instance. Or Kwan and his .363 batting average. Then what?

Yes, the Yankees' starting rotation has also fallen off a cliff (kind of weird that it coincided with the return of Gerrit Cole, but whatever), so in conjunction with their offense laboring, it has essentially been a death knell. At least for the time being.

We already know Cleveland's starting pitching stinks. Let's just call it what it is. The Guardians have sent down two starters already. Shane Bieber is out for the season. They just signed Matthew Boyd, for crying out loud. The rotation is a serious problem, but thanks to a stingy bullpen and some terrific hitting from a few select players, the ballclub has managed to stay afloat.

For now.

Cleveland is playing with fire here. Again, all it takes is one injury to completely submarine the season or, at the very least, send the Guardians spiraling into a stretch of poor play. Like the Yankees.

The trade deadline is about three weeks away, so Cleveland still has plenty of time to make some roster adjustments. But how serious are the Guardians about improving?

It's no secret that Cleveland does not like to spend money, so you have to wonder how much that will limit what the Guardians will do before July 30 (would they be willing to take on Cody Bellinger and his three-year, $80 million contract, for example?).

The thing is, Cleveland has a great shot of making it to a World Series this year. The Yanks looked like a buzzsaw a month ago, but now, their flaws have been brutally exposed. The Baltimore Orioles have been playing better of late, but they also went into a pretty severe tailspin for a while there.

Who else in the American League is really that scary?

The Guardians need to take stock of what has occurred in New York over these last several weeks. Cleveland's lineup is built very similar to the Yankees: lots of power, but restricted to only a few guys (in the Guardians' case, it's really just two—Ramirez and Naylor). But 1 through 9? Cleveland's offense lacks depth, and it's something that needs to be addessed.

The Guardians need to add at least one other starting pitcher (preferably two), and they also need to reserve an insurance policy in case of injury, slumps and what have you. That means trading for another bat, and it could mean parting with precious prospects and opening their wallet a bit further than they are comfortable.