Story by
'We all feel urgency': Can a struggling Guardians lineup rely on David Fry's return?
- Story by
- 'We all feel urgency': Can a struggling Guardians lineup rely on David Fry's return?
CLEVELAND — It's human nature to start pressing when you've been mostly unsuccessful for a certain period of time. As a whole, the Guardians lineup is now fighting that battle while searching for some more firepower.
The Guardians beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on June 8 to avert a sweep, but that mostly was the result of a superb outing by Tanner Bibee and another effective day by the bullpen.
Advertisement
Cleveland (34-30) boasts one of the lowest-performing lineups of any playoff contender in the majors. Entering June 8, the Guardians were 24th in the league with 224 runs — and that's including the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox , who are barely fielding major-league-worthy lineups.
In the month of June, it's been worse. The Guardians had scored 15 runs, which was 29th in baseball, only ahead of the Washington Nationals , a team that has basically forgotten how to score runs entirely.
Considering Cleveland's track record with pitching development and its elite bullpen, perhaps that level of production can keep the Guardians around .500 for a little longer. But it would leave a lot to be desired as they try to track down the Detroit Tigers and erase a 7.5-game deficit entering June 8.
It isn't quite a sky-is-falling situation, but the Guardians do need to produce a higher frequency of hits-are-falling games.
Advertisement
If the playoffs were to conclude before the June 9 slate, the Guardians would have been only a half-game outside of a playoff spot in the American League. But the offensive production is becoming the No. 1 road block to a return to October.
"I think pressure is stuff you put on yourself, right? We all feel urgency," said manager Stephen Vogt . "At the same time, we've faced some really tough pitching the last week. I like our at-bats. I think our guys are working.
"For our whole team: relax, stay the course, be us. You're going to hear a lot of noise. You're going hear a lot of sounds from the outside. They're not true. Keep going, keep playing our way."
Cleveland Guardians' David Fry strikes out against the New York Yankees on June 3, 2025, in New York City.
David Fry returns from injury, rejoins struggling Guardians lineup
Steven Kwan has started the 2025 season at an All-Star-caliber level, and Jose Ramirez appears headed toward yet another top-five MVP finish to add to his collection. Those two hitters can carry the Guardians on a given night, but over a larger sample size, Cleveland has been too reliant on those two spots in the lineup.
Advertisement
By a large margin, the No. 2 spot in the order has been the league's worst by production (42 wRC+ , dead last in the league). And the the bottom of the lineup, often occupied by Bo Naylor , Nolan Jones , Will Wilson , the recently demoted Jhonkensy Noel and a few others, has largely struggled to support the top of the order.
A lack of offseason resources to be used to add to the lineup left the Guardians trying to fill holes internally. Top prospects Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter have both dealt with or are dealing with significant injuries, so any chance of them helping the major league lineup has been delayed (and that's before considering whether they'd be ready even if healthy).
The Guardians did receive a potential boost with David Fry's return from elbow surgery , which will allow him to at least act as a designated hitter. He might not play the field at all in 2025, though some time at first base could be possible later in the year.
Fry has made an immediate impact and perhaps he can either stabilize the No. 2 spot in the order or lengthen the order while hitting fourth or fifth, just before or after Carlos Santana . But it's a lot pressure to put on Fry's shoulders if the Guardians need that much from one hitter to help support Ramirez and Kwan. And when that pressure builds, it can become a detriment.
Advertisement
"I think that's the key, not putting pressure on yourself," Fry said. "I mean, at times, whenever you're not scoring, you're trying to hit an eight-run home run every time you go up, and you just can't do that."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians offensive stats lacking as David Fry returns from injury
