This Identified As Cleveland Guardians’ Biggest Red Flag Right Now

Is the starting rotation the Cleveland Guardians' biggest concern for the rest of the MLB season?

Jul 28, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt (12) makes a pitching change against the Philadelphia Phillies during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports | Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians are still in first place in the AL Central but, they’re far from a perfect team. But what exactly is the team’s biggest worry with a month and a half of regular season games?

Bleacher Report identified Cleveland’s starting rotation as their biggest red flag for the remainder of the season. This is what they had to say about their pitching staff.

“The Guardians are still in first place, but a lead that once got as high as 9.0 games is now down to just 3.0 games over the Minnesota Twins. This was inevitable, given just how consistently Cleveland's starting pitching has been trying to trip up the team's contention run. And on the beat goes, as only Tanner Bibee (1.61 ERA) is standing out in a rotation that otherwise has a 4.75 ERA in the second half.”

It’s hard to argue that the starting rotation doesn’t have shortcomings and is a concern for the Guardians and makes sense for B/R to recognize it as a concern.

 However, it may not be as big of an issue for the rest of the season as another part of Cleveland’s roster. 

The rotation is finally starting to get grounded with Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams as their top two starters, and Alex Cobb and Matthew Boyd have made positive first impressions in their first starts with the team. The bullpen has also done a tremendous job picking up the rotation this season. 

The Guardians' real biggest worry is their inconsistent offense. 

Since the All-Star Break, Cleveland has hit .227/.284/.377 with an OPS of .661 as a team. They were completely shut out against the Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and now the Milwaukee Brewers. Each of these teams has discovered the Guardians have trouble hitting changeups and have attacked them with it.

Aug 9, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Alex Cobb (35) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports | Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The starting rotation will hopefully be fine, with two veterans anchoring the back half and two young arms at the top. But the offense needs to figure out a way to score runs or the division could be in possession of the Twins by last weekend.