CLEVELAND, Ohio — Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan, two of the Guardians’ top hitters, were asked if the team needed offensive help as it looks toward 2026 after being eliminated from the postseason by the Tigers on Thursday, 6-3, in the best-of-three AL wild card series.
They both said it was a matter for the front office to decide.
But here are the facts:
The Guardians finished the regular season with .226 batting average. It’s the lowest batting average in Guardians’ history and was the second lowest among MLB’s 30 teams this season.They ranked 28th in runs with 643. It’s Cleveland’s lowest total for a full season in 53 years.They ranked 30th in on-base percentage at .296.They ranked 28th in slugging percentage at .373.They ranked 20th in home runs with 168.
“There are things we need to improve upon,” said manager Stephen Vogt after Thursday’s loss. “There are things we need to get better with.”
When asked what areas they needed to address, Vogt said, “Everything.”
The offense, however, cannot be overlooked. Vogt talked about the Guardians’ offense troubles several times.
The Guardians need to improve their run pro. The fact duction in all phases. That they were able to overcome the biggest deficit in big league history to win the AL Central is a testament to good pitching, good fortune and an opportunistic offense.
The chances of that happening again are rare.
Ramirez and Kwan were asked what this offense has to do to improve. “Hard work,” was their answer.
No argument there, but it’s going to take more than hard work for this organization to reach its goal of winning a World Series championship. It’s going to take one or two real run producers.
Home away from home
When Vogt went home after Wednesday’s Game 2 victory, he played football with his children, but he never stopped thinking about Game 3.
“I was just being a dad,” he said. “You’re always thinking about the game, of course. This is my job. My job is to prepare for today.
“I reflected a lot on the day. It was a lot of fun. So, yeah, you start thinking through how you want to approach today, all those things.”
High velocity
Guardians executives liked what they saw out of rookie Chase DeLauter’s three trips to the plate on Wednesday in his big league debut. He walked, grounded out and lined out in his his big league debut.
In the fifth, he grounded out to second and in the seventh he lined out to center. The exit velocity on the outs were 100 mph and 111 mph. In Game 3, DeLauter recorded his first big-league hit, a single to right in the second inning. The exit velo was 96 mph.
DeLauter, according to Elias, is just the second position player in history to record his first career big league hit in the postseason. Minnesota’s Alex Kiriloff is the other.
Assuming DeLauter is with the big league club at sometime next year, he’ll get a chance to get his first regular-season, big-league hit as well. Thursday’s postseason hit does not count as a regular season stat.
Vogt was impressed how DeLauter drew a walk in his first big-league at bat after dropping the first fly ball that was hit to him in center field in the first inning.
“You’d never seen a major league split before,” said Vogt. “So for him to control the at bat and work a walk, that was really impressive. He didn’t look overmatched. He didn’t look like he was getting dominated at any point. He was controlling the at bats.”
Rookies central
The Guardians had six rookies on the wild-card roster. In Game 3, three of them were in the starting lineup, right fielder George Valera, center fielder DeLauter and first baseman C.J. Kayfus. Joey Cantillo started the fourth inning in relief of Tim Herrin, and pitched 2 2/3 innings.
Rookie outfielders Petey Halpin and Johnathan Rodriguez were on the bench. Sixteen of 26 players on the wild card roster are homegrown.
“This is the way we have to do things to stay competitive,” said Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations.
FinallyThe Tigers hit .200 (7 for 35) with runners in scoring position in the wild card series. The Guardians hit .313 (6 for 16).The Tigers stranded 29 runners, while Guardians stranded 11.This was the Guardians 18th postseason series in franchise history. They’re 65-66 in postseason play and 35-27 record at Progressive Field.
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