By winning the AL Central division title and making it all the way to the ALCS, the Cleveland Guardians surpassed all expectations last season.
In 2025, will they be able to duplicate their success?
The Guardians, who may have benefited from some significant luck in 2024, will have a tough time because they didn’t actually make any changes during the summer.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report seemed to be highly dubious about Cleveland, which is a fitting reaction considering how the club has fared this winter.
Miller believes that one player in particular, Kyle Manzardo, could be the key to the Guardians’ success in the upcoming campaign.
“From what already wasn’t a potent offense, Cleveland traded away two of its three leaders in plate appearances last season, shipping Josh Naylor to Arizona and Andrés Giménez to Toronto,” Miller stated. “It might be difficult for Kyle Manzardo if he doesn’t have a breakthrough year.”
Due in large part to his stellar.932 OPS during his career in Cleveland’s minor-league system, Manzardo was regarded as one of baseball’s better prospects heading into the previous season.
He had some sparks in 2024, particularly in September when he hit five home runs, but he mostly struggled in the major leagues.
This season, the Guardians will be depending much more on Manzardo because, aside from Jose Ramirez, they don’t have a lot of proven strength.
In order to avoid disaster for the Guardians, Cleveland will need players like Manzardo and Jhonkensy Noel to come up offensively.
