3 things the Guardians must do to make the postseason after recent slide

On July 6, the 2025 Cleveland Guardians looked like they were officially dead.

They had just lost their tenth game in a row, with the tenth and final loss coming in the form of a crushing extra inning loss to the Tigers highlighted by a game-tying pass ball and a six-run tenth inning from the Tigers. Not only did that loss crush the Guardians' spirits, but it also pushed the Tigers' lead in the division to 15 1/2 games, which led to lot of folks wondering if the Guardians were destined for a deadline selloff and an October soaking up the sun in Cancun.

But, incredibly, Cleveland did an incredible job rebounding from that low point and, despite ongoing controversy in the clubhouse, played themselves back into the thick of both the American League Central and Wild Card races.

Fast forward to late August, however, and the Guardians are once again in the midst of another prolonged slide that's essentially eliminated them from the division race and has them clinging to the fringes of the Wild Card picture. While their season isn't over season, the Guardians will need to do these three things if they want to make a run at the postseason.

3 Things the Guardians must do to make the postseason

First, Stephen Vogt needs to employ a closer-by-committee role for the remainder of the season. Cade Smith is a dominant young reliever that racks up strikeouts and carries the mentality of Cleveland’s next star closer, but Smith’s results as the full-time closer have been mixed since Emmanuel Clase was placed on administrative leave.

Smith's blown save total is up to five this season after an implosion over the weekend, so a closer-by-committee approach would allow for Vogt to play for matchups in the final inning. It’s an idea that Vogt has never had to consider when Clase was the anchor at the back of the bullpen, but now he's working with a bullpen full of young relievers with no closing experience.

It's in everybody’s best interest to follow the flow of the game and utilize guys like Hunter Gaddis, Eric Sobrowski, Nic Enright, and Smith as the opponent’s lineup dictates.

Next, Vogt needs to resist the urge to mix lineups on a daily basis and try to find at least seven everyday players for the remainder of the season. Some of these are simple. José Ramírez at third base, Steven Kwan in left field, Kyle Manzardo and Carlos Santana at first base/designated hitter.

The others aren't as simple For both the success of this team and the sake of fairly evaluating talent, we need to see Gabriel Arias at shortstop, Brayan Rocchio at second base, C.J. Kayfus in right field, and Bo Naylor behind the plate.

That leaves center field as the only spot without a clear everyday option. But, upon closer review, it seems like an easy decision. Daniel Schneeman is hitting .238 with a .734 OPS against right-handed pitching and Angel Martínez is hitting .298 with an .849 OPS against left-handed pitching. Let those two platoon there and try to get the most out of each player by putting them in positions to succeed.

Lastly, the Guardians desperately need to take advantage of the two roster spots they gain in September.

Typically, those two spots are used on one pitcher and one position player. From a pitching standpoint, the focus needs to be adding a reliever that they believe can handle moderate-to-high leverage situations. Unfortunately, injuries and suspensions have strained Cleveland’s depth in both the majors and Triple-A.

As it stands now, the best option may be promoting Joey Cantillo and utilizing him in the bullpen, where he had some success at the beginning of the year.

On the position player side, Cleveland needs to find a player suitable for a flexible bench role. While it would be nice to see Jhonkensy Noel back in Cleveland with the hope his bat can spark the offense, he did not fare well in his platoon role to start the season, and Kayfus deserve the bulk of the playing time in right field.

Noel would only make sense if Vogt is willing to let him, Kayfus, and Manzardo share daily 1B/RF/DH duties and relegate Santana to the bench. Utility infielder Will Wilson would also be a good fit, or perhaps the front office would finally be comfortable giving George Valera his chance with the Guardians.

Valera is already on the outs for Cleveland’s future plans, so calling him up for the final month and seeing how he handles a bench role could be the spark that both parties need to reignite the potential that had evaluators touting Valera as a top 100 prospect in baseball just a few years ago.