Cleveland Guardians Receive Brutal Midseason Grade

The Cleveland Guardians came into the season with aspirations of another American League Central crown and reaching the playoffs for the third time in four years.

However, there were some clear issues with the roster following last year's ALCS appearance.

ESPN's David Schoenfield recently gave every team a grade a little past the halfway point of the MLB season, and he gave the Guardians a brutal grade of a "D-."

"That fell apart in a hurry. Sunday's loss was Cleveland's 10th in a row, a stretch that remarkably included five shutouts. Indeed, the Guardians have now been shut out 11 times; the franchise record in the post-dead-ball-era (since 1920) is 20 shutouts in 1968," wrote Schoenfield

"There's nothing worse than watching a team that can't score runs, so that tells you how exciting the Guardians have been. Last year, the Guardians hit exceptionally well with runners in scoring position, keeping afloat what was otherwise a mediocre offense. That hasn't happened in 2025 (trading Josh Naylor didn't help either). Throw in some predictable regression from the bullpen, and this season looks lost."

The Guardians have received a lot of backlash for the Josh Naylor trade, mainly because Cleveland struggled to score runs, but it's not like this deal was a complete loss for the team.

Slade Cecconi (3.56 ERA, 1.31 WHIP) has played a key role in Cleveland's rotation, and there's still a future.

That said, the Guardians' offensive struggles have been real, and having Naylor back in the lineup would certainly help with that.

This grade certainly is a little harsh, and possibly a product of recent bias, considering Cleveland's rough 10-game losing streak.

However, being 15.5 games behind the division leader and 5.5 games back of a wild card spot at the beginning of July was certainly not part of Cleveland 2025's plans.

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