This Hideous Cleveland Guardians Stat Will Make You Double Take

Cleveland Guardians fans will cringe when they see this horrendous stat.
Apr 27, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Nolan Jones (22) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Apr 27, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Nolan Jones (22) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
In this story:

Last year, the Cleveland Guardians struggled to get consistent offensive production from any outfielder not named Steven Kwan. Fast forward to 2025, and things haven't changed. In fact, things have gotten even worse for the Guardians.

Kwan has been terrific this season. The All-Star is slashing .308/.370/.435 with six home runs and 23 RBI over 282 plate appearances whiile continuing to play stellar defense. We know he's a stud.

But the rest of Cleveland's outfield has been nothing short of a cataclysmic disaster, whether that's the failed right-field platoon of Nolan Jones and Jhonkensy Noel or Lane Thomas forgetting how to hit a baseball (while also having tremendous difficulty staying on the field).

Just how bad have things gotten for the Guardians, you ask? Well, check out this ridiculous statistic revealed by The Athletic in a recent trade deadline piece.

"Outfielders not named Kwan have more than 550 plate appearances this season and an OPS that is lower than that number of plate appearances," The Athletic wrote.

It's hard to believe that's true, but it is, thanks much in part to Thomas (.426 OPS) and Noel (.392 OPS), the latter of whom was recently demoted to Triple-A Columbus. Not that Jones (.620 OPS) nor Angel Martinez (.623 OPS) have been that much better.

Cleveland obviously needs to add at least one bat if it wants to be taken seriously as a contender. Last summer, the Guardians added Thomas before the deadline. They will need to make an even more impactful addition to genuinely move the needle this time around.

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage

MORE: Guardians Skipper Provides New Injury Update On Shane Bieber

MORE: WATCH: Guardians Elite Prospect Hits Home Run Off Max Scherzer

MORE: Guardians Activate Veteran Off Injured List In Latest Roster Moves

MORE: Former Guardians Pitcher Dealt to AL Central Rival in Surprising Trade

MORE: What To Watch for During Cleveland Guardians West Coast Road Trip


Published
Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.


OSZAR »