Why Stephen Vogt Isn’t Concerned With Guardians Lack of Right-Handed Bats

The Cleveland Guardians have an odd makeup.

They aren’t one of MLB’s most exciting teams, let alone the most talented, on paper. They are young and inexperienced, but they also have a few veteran leaders who rank among the league’s best at their respective positions.

Not only does the team’s lack of overall experience raise concern heading into 2026, but so does the shortage of right-handed bats.

However, with just four true right-handers in the lineup mix, manager Stephen Vogt isn’t worried. He pointed to the club’s collection of switch-hitters, who will help balance things out when a lineup heavy on lefties is sporting the navy blue and red.

"The ability to switch hit obviously... gives you the ability to have the advantage in every matchup," Vogt said in a recent press conference. "We love our switch-hitters. We feel like we have a lot of right-handed bats, only four specifically, but with the switch-hitters, it definitely helps."

"The ability to switch hit obviously... gives you the ability to have the advantage in every matchup"

The #Guardians only have 4 strictly right handed batters on their roster at the moment, but manager Stephen Vogt says the team's switch hitters "definitely helps"@WEWS pic.twitter.com/APGgir6HKP
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) February 23, 2026

The Switch-Hitters On the Team For 2026

Cleveland is expected to carry five consistent switch-hitters through the rest of spring training; however, not all will end up on the major league Opening Day roster.

Jose Ramirez is obviously a no-brainer as the most prominent for the team, slashing a remarkable .279/.353/.504 for an OPS of .857 across his 13-year career. No matter the side of the plate he's on, very little productivity changes.

Against right-handed pitchers when batting as a lefty, he's posted a .275 batting average through 1,481 games, and against left-handed batters as a righty, he's been just a bit better at a mark of .289 through 944 games.

Other notable switch-hitters include Brayan Rocchio, who plays alongside Ramirez on the diamond.

He is coming into 2026 with little major league experience under his belt, at least in comparison to the multi-time award winner Ramirez.

Across his young career with the Guardians, he's hit in 151 games as a lefty against righties and 244 games as a righty against lefties. In those respective outings, he's averaged .203 and .229.

Yes, those aren't nearly as high as Ramirez's splits, but over time, the hope is that he can eventually get to that point.

As spring training continues to march along, a few other switch-hitters, Angel Martinez and Juan Brito, will have close eyes on them as they look to develop.

All switch-hitting stats provided by FanGraphs.

Having hitters who can turn around and bat from either side of the plate effectively makes up for the lack of righties the team has on staff. Especially over the course of 162 regular-season games, that flexibility matters.

For the Guardians' coaching staff and Vogt, that's enough to trust what the front office has built for 2026. Vogt obviously believes in his players, especially these switch-hitters, something that will end up going a long way for their confidence moving forward.

The next chance to see plenty of the team's intriguing bats will be on Tuesday, Feb. 24, as they take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. First pitch between the two sides is set for 3:05 p.m. EST.