Why the Guardians’ 2025 MLB Playoff push feels like playing with house money

Typically in sports, there’s no such thing as playing with house money.

When the Oklahoma City Thunder ran into LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the 2012 NBA Finals, everybody assumed that the young, overachieving OKC squad would certainly be back.

It took them almost 13 years to get back. And that was without Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Locally, when the Cleveland Browns went on a magic carpet ride with Joe Flacco in 2023, everybody was just along for the ride as an improbable veteran quarterback saved the day.

The Browns currently look nothing like an NFL Playoff contender, especially offensively, less than two years removed from that run.

But these Cleveland Guardians are a little bit of a different story. This run truly is house money.

Sure, they erased a 15.5 game divisional deficit and currently stand on the doorstep of the MLB Playoffs. Nobody expected them to make it this far, especially because of their inept offense, inexperienced starting rotation and a bullpen that regressed after being the best in baseball just one season ago.

The Detroit Tigers have major holes – that’s why the Guardians were able to erase that massive lead in the American League Central, the largest in the history of the division. Detroit has Tarik Skubal, one of the best pitchers on the planet. Outside of him? It’s a starting rotation of random retread arms. The back end of their bullpen is overrated. The lineup has holes.

Despite this, Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg did nothing at the deadline.

The Guardians used their winning culture, power of friendship, wizardry of pitching coach Carl Willis with some opportunistic hitting throughout the back end of their schedule to make up a ton of ground in the division.

At the end of the day, this is far from a talented baseball team.

Sure, there are some names. Jose Ramirez remains one of the best players in the sport. Without him, it’s tough to imagine where the Guardians would be. Steven Kwan deserves a lot of money, and he’s going to get it from somewhere eventually. Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams both developed nicely all year, with youngsters like Slade Cecconi and Parker Messick showing promise as well.

But these Guardians were not meant to seriously contend in 2025 despite being three wins away from appearing in a World Series just a season ago.

They traded away Josh Naylor, the first baseman that drove in 108 runs for them last year. He was replaced by Kyle Manzardo who seems promising, but went 1-for-11 when it mattered most in a pivotal series against the Tigers.

The middle infield has been a mystery since the team traded away Francisco Lindor. That mystery only grew deeper when they traded away the best defensive second baseman in the league, Andres Gimenez. While he had his pitfalls at the dish, he was a cornerstone piece.

While Gabriel Arias and Bryan Rocchio both showed reasons to keep them around throughout the season, they also haven’t exactly proved they’re the long-term answers. Fans should be very excited about the prospect of No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazanna.

The outfield is anchored by Kwan. Maybe C.J. Kayfus can be a good player, but the sample size was too small. Throughout the lineup, there are too many players not hitting their weight.

This run has been awesome. Historic, even. It’s amazing how this team was able to respond after losing Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase to gambling investigations. They have a plethora of good, young players and they have the luxury of playing in a division that still is not very good. Pair that with a winning culture and there’s no doubting this team will be back in the mix next year.

But anything these Guardians do in the 2025 postseason will just be icing on the cake on an improbable season.

Maybe they can continue to shock the world. They certainly enjoy playing the role of the underdog. At the end of the day, they genuinely are playing with house money.