KANSAS CITY — The people in charge of making the Guardians better are on the hot seat.

The team is 51-51. They recently lost 10 straight games to fall 15 1/2 games behind the first-place Tigers in the American League Central.

So why should Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff and the rest of the G’s decision makers be feeling the heat? They can just phone in the rest of the season.

Not quite.

The Guardians are playing better of late. They went into the All-Star break on a 6-1 run. They’ve extended that to an 11-3 heater with series wins over the A’s and Orioles coming out of the break.

The starting rotation is getting deeper into games. A dormant offense is suddenly hitting the ball out of the park. The bullpen is pitching back to form.

The Tigers, meanwhile, have lost 10 of their last 11 games. The Guardians, who had dropped as low as fourth place in the Central, have climbed back to second place, trailing Detroit by 7 1/2 games. The two teams have six games left with each other, all in late September.

In the wild card race, the Guardians are 2 1/2 games out of the third and final spot. The Red Sox currently occupy that position by a half game over Texas and 1 1/2 games over Tampa Bay.

Yes, the Guardians are still third in line, but at one point during their free fall there were five teams ahead of them in the chase for the last postseason spot.

Cleveland has 60 games left to play, starting with Saturday’s day-night doubleheader against the Royals. They’ve had scouts following them for several weeks, ready to swoop in and take their best available players for their stretch runs. The Guardians, meanwhile, are putting together a run of their own.

Or are they?

That’s what Antonetti and Chernoff have to determine. Is this a mirage, a happy accident by a team that is destined to play breakeven the rest of the season? Or are they an actual playoff team?

That’s where the heat comes from. The trade deadline is Thursday, and the Guardians have to decide if they’re in or out of the race. There is much to consider:

They need to continue to see how the Guardians perform in the last six games before the deadline. After this three-game series against the Royals (50-53), they play the three against the Rockies (27-76) at home.They have to continue to evaluate how they rate against other AL contenders. They have to evaluate their chances of not only reaching the postseason but advancing if they do. More importantly, what it would cost them to do so?They have to make deals with an eye on the present and the future. Under the current leadership, the Guardians have never put the future of the franchise at risk because of an overreach in the present.They have to make intelligent decisions based on research, scouting and analytics, while keeping emotions at bay.They have to remember that their hot streak is taking place because of a soft spot in the schedule. Yes, they started it with a sweep of AL West-leading Houston, but the Astros were ravaged by injuries.

The Guardians have been through this drill several times because they’ve gone to the postseason seven times in the last 13 years.

They added Lane Thomas last year from the Nationals at the deadline and he helped them reach the ALCS.

In 2023, they gave up on the season by trading veterans Amed Rosario, Josh Bell and Aaron Civale at or right before the deadline. They traded Civale to the Rays for Kyle Manzardo on July 31. At the time of the trade, they were 53-54, one game out of first place in the AL Central.

Statistically, they are in a worst position this year, but the players that have been mentioned as trade possibilities, outside of a few veterans, are at a higher level than Rosario, Civale and Bell.

Yes, Carlos Santana could be traded. So could Lane Thomas, if healthy. But Gold Glove left fielder Steven Kwan or closer Emmanuel Clase?

That would take some serious explaining to a fan base that has come to Progressive Field in big numbers this season, not to mention the remaining players in clubhouse.

According to sources, the Guardians have made it known that Clase and right-hander Cade Smith, who some say is the closer in waiting, aren’t available. It would be hard to move Kwan, with two years of control, as well.

But deadlines create pressure and pressure creates trades.

Manager Stephen Vogt talked about the mood in the clubhouse as the deadline nears.

“It can be difficult if you allow it to be,” said Vogt. “Or it can be, ‘Hey, let’s just go out and play. We’ve got 26 guys here right now. Let’s take the field and win a game.’

“Right now, it’s just rumors. What’s going to happen in a week is going to happen whether we want it to or not. We might be excited, or we might be upset.”

Time will tell.

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