Kyle Manzardo’s strong Ohio Cup shines bittersweet spotlight on Guardians’ biggest flaw 

In the seventh inning of the Guardians’ win over the Reds, Cleveland first baseman Kyle Manzardo mashed a 425-foot home run that put the game away. 

While the homer helped Manzardo become the winner of the illustrious Ohio Cup MVP, it also increased his team lead in home runs… to a whopping 13 homers. 

Three years ago, the Guardians traded for Manzardo at the trade deadline in the hopes that he’d lead Cleveland in home runs for years to come. 

However, they likely didn’t imagine that it would be him leading the team with 13 home runs at a point where almost every team in baseball has a player with 20+ home runs. 

Even if Manzardo is starting to heat up (homers in two out of his last three games), the Guardians are only going to go so far with him as their top power hitter. 

For most front offices, addressing such a big flaw would be the main priority at the trade deadline. But the Guardians aren’t like most front offices, which could set up a disappointing trade deadline where it’s not a lock that flaw will be addressed. 

The Guardians’ lack of power could end up hurting them in the postseason 

It would be one thing if Manzardo’s power spike came at a point where the rest of his game was growing, but he’s still slugging just .682 and has an OPS+ of 91. You can’t rely on him to carry the team’s offense the rest of the season. 

Manzardo’s struggles have looked even more acute given Rhys Hoskins’ struggles in his platoon with Manzardo. 

Coming into the season it looked like Manzardo and Hoskins would be one of the most productive first base tandems, but Hoskins hasn’t done much outside of drawing walks and hitting the occasional home run and Manzardo’s had his aforementioned struggles. 

The good news for the Guardians is there are plenty of power options available in free agency who won’t break the bank like Lane Thomas, Mickey Moniak and JJ Bleday. 

But it remains to be seen if Chris Antonetti is willing to roll the dice on adding to a roster that will still be flawed even if they add one of those power bats. 

Last year the Guardians were able to make it into the postseason despite having a .226 batting average (the worst among any postseason team in MLB History), but that postseason berth felt like house money because of their historic comeback. 

This year’s struggles feel like a wasted opportunity given the Guardians have been hanging around in the American League postseason picture all year and are neck-in-neck with the upstart White Sox. 

Even though the Guardians have the track record of showing they can win with a flawed roster, that doesn’t mean those flaws shouldn’t be addressed at the trade deadline.

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