There's one spot in particular in the Cleveland Guardians lineup that needs the most help.
The Cleveland Guardians have a lot of work to do in their lineup to ensure they are a middle-of-the-road offensive team heading into 2026. Overall, the Guardians ranked among the worst offenses in baseball in 2026.
Their offense has always been at its best when the team is stringing hits together, running the bases hard, and racking up the opposing pitcher’s pitch count.
However, over the last few seasons, opposing teams have been able to avoid Jose Ramirez in the lineup, and Steven Kwan has started to get the same treatment on occasion.
There’s one spot in the batting order that especially needs work and is a critical issue for Cleveland to fix this offseason. That position is those hitting second.
The Guardians' two-hole hitters had a collective slash line of .197/.260/.334 during the 2026 season. Their OPS of .594 was the worst out of any other spot in the lineup.
Remember, that’s with Jose Ramirez hitting second for the first two weeks of the season. It was an experiment Stephen Vogt was trying out, but it was clear Ramirez felt much more comfortable hitting third.
Oct 1, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians second base Daniel Schneemann (10) celebrates after catcher Bo Naylor (23) scored a home run against the Detroit Tigers in the eighth inning during game two of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesHere’s a list of every player who hit second for the Guardians last season, how many games they appeared there, and their corresponding OPS when hitting in that position.
- Angel Martinez - 47 games - .590 OPS
- Daniel Schneemann - 39 games - .553 OPS
- Jose Ramirez - 19 games - .803 OPS
- David Fry - 15 games - .832 OPS
- Kyle Manzardo - 15 games - .700 OPS
- Nolan Jones - 10 games - .567 OPS
- Lane Thomas - 10 games - .523 OPS
- George Valera - 9 games - .506 OPS
- Gabriel Arias - 9 games - .258 OPS
- Bo Naylor - 2 games - .000 OPS
- Brayan Rocchio - 2 games - .000 OPS
- CJ Kayfus - 1 game - .250 OPS
It’s a tough job to hit behind Steven Kwan and directly in front of J-Ram, and that’s clearly shown in these numbers.
Fry actually did a solid job hitting in this two-hole, but with his success mostly coming off left-handed pitchers and still the relatively small sample size, and with him turning 30 on Thursday, the Guardians still must find someone else they feel comfortable hitting their in 2026.
Valera showed promise last September, and maybe he’ll turn into a quality option for the Guardians to continue to hit there moving forward.
Still, as Cleveland sifts through its offseason and free agent options, it would be wise for them to go out and get a veteran bat who can fill into that two-hole and give Kwan and Ramirez a little more protection next season.