3 reasons the Guardians are still in the American League Central division race and 2 why they are not

At this current moment in time the Cleveland Guardians' season could really go in either direction. It is equally plausible to see this team step up to the plate and win the division as it is to see them fall back behind Minnesota finishing as an also ran. Here are three reasons why they are still in the division race and two why they are not.

Reason 1 why the Guardians are still in the American League Central division race: The American League Central stinks

In case anyone has been living under a rock, the American League Central is not a good division. It is the only division in baseball without a team above .500. For a brief moment there were zero teams with a winning record, but Minnesota was able to climb back to 33-33 on the year. There is a very solid case to make that this is the worst division in baseball with the National League Central being the only competition, if you can call it that. When a division is this bad and the difference between first and fourth place is only 5.5 games, only the team in last place is truly out of it.

Reason 1 why the Guardians are not in the American League Central division race: Uncertain Trade Deadline intentions

There is not one person that can definitively say exactly the Guardians will do at the trade deadline, and that includes the braintrust in Cleveland's front office. Equally valid cases can be made to buy, sell, or do a little bit of both. Ideally it is a combination of buying and selling when the deadline approaches.

One thing to consider is that there are some clear trade chip candidates on the roster currently that could be moved. If they are moved it would open up opportunities for younger players in the system who are eagerly awaiting their shot in the bigs, but currently have no clear path to get there. Until the true intentions of their deadline approach are known, it makes it difficult to believe that the team will make transactions that add talent to the roster and not remove it.

Reason 2 why the Guardians are still in the American League Central division race: Took care of business at home this past week

For the first time all season the Guardians won back-to-back series at home. They've won back-to-back on the road, with one series at home and the other away, but not back-to-back at home, until now. It took until the middle of June, but they finally did it and against some tough competition too. Cleveland went 4-2 over six games against the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros, which helped keep them within 1.5 games of the Twins.

Being able to take care of business against teams such as Boston and Houston is no small feat. And with them holding solid edges in hits (70-52) and runs (38-25), Cleveland showed they can go toe-to-toe with just about anyone in baseball.

Reason 2 why the Guardians are not in the American League Central division race: The offense could return to it's former form

The first couple of months of the season were rough for the Guardians. Looking up most offensive stats and any involving power would find Cleveland at or near the bottom. This recent offensive outburst is great and incredibly encouraging, but they are still in relatively the same positions as they were before. Cleveland is last in home runs, 27th in runs, 28th in runs batted in, and 28th in slugging percentage. An extended stretch of good play is needed in order to see those numbers get into the Top-20 and that is when their recent uptick in performance at the plate can no longer be written off as an outlier.