The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner on Guardians’ Options Amid Rash of Key Injuries

Rich asked Tyler Kepner if he could remember a team losing three of its best players from one game to the injured list, and even The Athletic's veteran baseball writer was stumped. That's exactly what happened to the Guardians, who lost Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter, and Angel Martinez in a single Saturday game.

Kepner couldn't recall anything like it short of a collision, comparing it to the Mets' luck the day Juan Soto returned and Francisco Lindor went down with the same calf injury, the kind of crazy timing that seems to follow some teams. For Cleveland, it's especially brutal because the Guardians simply aren't deep, and there's no getting around losing a player like Ramirez.

The frustrating part is that, once again, a team that can't hit but can pitch and develop pitching has found its way atop the division. Rich noted that even last year, when Cleveland nearly dumped Steven Kwan and would have traded Emmanuel Clase if not for his suspension, they got hot in September and made the run anyway. So where are they now, with the Josh Harris money not yet in play?

Kepner could see them adding, because another division title is in reach and they'll be stronger if the injured guys return. The catch is the familiar one: the Guardians won't spend much and prefer not to block their young players, and when they have spent, the mediocre returns have made them feel they'd have been better off giving a cheaper young guy a shot. Still, Kepner pointed to the real foundation, that Cleveland is the only team to use just five starters all year, with the luck of health baked in. If they keep running those five out, he said, they'll have a shot, and he'd be disappointed if the front office didn't add a bat. Without a healthy Ramirez and an improving Kwan, though, they probably aren't going anywhere regardless.