Cleveland Guardians Make Interesting Move to Help Offensive Production

Despite a rough first half of the 2025 MLB season, the Cleveland Guardians have made a complete 180 since returning from the All-Star Break. And while the break may have helped the offense gather themselves, one addition to the coaching staff may be contributing to the team's latest offensive surge.

After former assistant hitting coach Jason Esposito left the organization to become the hitting coach for the Vanderbilt Commodores earlier this month, head coach Stephen Vogt told reporters last week that Columbus Clippers hitting coach Junior Betances will join the major league staff.

#Guardians have brought up Triple-A Columbus hitting coach, Junior Betances to join the staff after assistant hitting coach Jason Esposito left for Vanderbilt.

"After 34 years in the minor leagues (Junior) is going to be a major league hitting coach for the first time in his… pic.twitter.com/HVZl38czI2
— Leah Doherty (@LeahDohertyTV) July 18, 2025

Betances has been a staple in the Guardians farm system, as he spent 19 seasons with the organization before his recent promotion to the majors. Throughout his time with the ball club, Betance coached most of the current hitters, including Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez and Angel Martinez. The long-time hitting coach also was Ramirez's pitcher during his two appearances in the MLB Home Run Derby in 2022 and 2024.

Since returning from the All-Star Break, the Guardians have the highest OPS (.884) in the MLB, as well as the second-most RBIs (34) and walks (25) across the league. During the five-game stretch, Cleveland has averaged 6.8 runs per game, which is a dramatic difference from their 3.7 runs per game before the All-Star Break.

With the organization's recent surge of offense and winning 10 of their last 12 games, the Guardians are back to the .500 mark and 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. Looking at the rest of the season for Cleveland, they have the No. 27-hardest ranked schedule, with their toughest matchups coming against the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets and Seattle Mariners.

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