Cleveland Guardians Called 'Toast' in Bleak Reality Check

The Cleveland Guardians only made one major move at the MLB trade deadline, sending pitcher Shane Bieber to the Toronto Blue Jays. They weren't sellers, but they certainly weren't buyers, which obviously puts their playoff chances in serious question.

The Guardians have been playing great baseball of late, having gone 17-7 over their last 24 games o re-establish themselves as Wild Card contenders, but Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller apparently does not think much of Cleveland's chances of making the postseason.

"There was an awful lot of Guardians chatter, mostly surrounding Steven Kwan as a top trade candidate. The All-Star left fielder ended up not going anywhere, though, the lone trades Cleveland made involving injured pitchers Shane Bieber and Paul Sewald," Miller wrote. "They're only 3.0 games back in the wild card picture, but they added nothing and also lost Emmanuel Clase through at least the end of August. They're most likely toast."

Now, it should be noted that the Guardians actually sit two-and-a-half games back of a Wild Card spot at this point, and they are only two back in the loss column. It's really right there in front of them. But do they have enough to actually get over the hump?

Cleveland's offense has been subpar all season long, and its bullpen obviously took a major hit with the loss of Clase. Those factors could absolutely sabotage the Guardians' playoff hopes down the stretch here.

That being said, Cleveland is clearly right in the thick of the playoff hunt, so we cannot completely rule out the possibility of the Guardians punching their ticket to the postseason yet again. Remember: last year, Cleveland won the AL Central and made it all the way to the ALCS.

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