The Cleveland Guardians are lagging behind their 2025 counterparts in offense

The Cleveland Guardians are lagging behind their 2025 counterparts in offense originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Cleveland Guardians are having a good start to their 2026 campaign. Entering Saturday, they were 11-10 and tied for the top spot in the AL Central. Not bad, considering they've faced multiple playoff-caliber teams in a row. If they hadn't had to face off with teams like the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves after facing squads like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners, then they'd be sitting pretty.

The Guards are facing some of the best teams in baseball to start the season, and the fact that they're performing as well as they are is a sign that this is a solid ballclub, yet that doesn't mean there aren't areas to improve.

A hangup for the club in 2026 has been the offense. Though it seems like it's a perpetual problem for the Guardians, they can put together some strong seasons with the roster they have. Yet, the 2026 club is lagging slightly behind the 2025 club from 2025.

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Through 21 games entering the Saturday matchup with the Baltimore Orioles, the 2026 Guardians have hit 78 RBIs, down slightly from the 84 they hit in 2025 across the same time frame. The 2026 club is also falling behind in the number of games where they scored five or more RBI's, with the 2026 club so far at eight through 21, and the 2025 club hitting nine through the same span. The '26 Guardians have also had more shutout losses in 2026 through 21 games than the 2025 Guardians (Two in '26, one in '25).