Guardians: Team president Chris Antonetti believes there are better days ahead for offense

CLEVELAND — The Guardians rank toward the bottom of the major leagues in nearly every offensive category, but team president Chris Antonetti is keeping the faith. "We're going through a tough stretch right now, offensively, for the last month," Antonetti said with the Guardians on pace to post their lowest batting average (.208) in the month of June since a .217 clip in 1915. "We haven't been at our best scoring runs, but I continue to believe in the group of players that are here and the staff that we have that's supporting them. It's really hard to be consistently successful at the major league level for anyone, and it's really hard for a young group to do that consistently. "But I think as we look forward, the results will be better from here than they've been over the last month. I don't think the last month is indicative of the potential of the guys that are on the roster." Antonetti pointed to the improvement of Cleveland's starting staff as an example for optimism where the offense is concerned. "I think you don't have to look back too much further than some of the conversations we were having about a young starting rotation back in March and April that was struggling to find their way a little bit," he said. "And you look up a couple of months later through a lot of hard work at the individual level that those pitchers have put in and the support our coaches and staff members have provided them, that that group has emerged as one of the strengths of the team. So, hopefully we'll have a similar story to tell with our position players." Despite the confidence in the team's current composition, Antonetti said the front office would be exploring options prior to the July 31 trade deadline. The Guardians entered Saturday 9½ games behind the first-place Tigers in the Central Division standings at 40-40. They were 1½ games behind the Mariners for the AL's final wild card berth. "I think we'll continue to have a lot of dialogue that has picked up here in the last week or two," Antonetti said. "If past years are any indication of what we could expect moving forward — I think since we've had this new wild card format — I think 90 percent-plus of the deals happen in the last 48 hours prior to the deadline. We would probably expect it to be a later developing deadline because there are so many teams that remain in contention at this point. "What we try to do is assess where we are in that moment and then make the best decisions we think are in the best interest of the organization. There have been some years in which that's been more longer-term focus and other years in which we focus more on the short term. But that's really hard to forecast in advance. And the good news is we have another five weeks probably before we need to make those decisions." Going into Friday night's games, 22 of the 30 big league teams were within 3½ games of a playoff spot. "There just weren't as many teams around the league that were just looking down the road (in spring training)," Antonetti said. "I think most teams were trying to be competitive in 2025 and even some of those that might've been repositioning have found themselves in the midst of things, maybe even a little bit more than they were expecting. "So I think that combination of factors has led us to where we are right now and I think probably reinforces the belief that it's going to take time for teams to sort out exactly what they might want to do for the balance of the season, which might push those decisions closer to the trade deadline." Offensive assistance could be available within the organization. Fans have been clamoring for the promotion of Triple-A Columbus' Chase DeLauter and C.J. Kayfus — two of Cleveland's top prospects. "I think it's great to the extent that we feel and others feel that we have a lot of capable players, not only at the major league level but throughout our system that we think might be part of our future and potentially even part of our present," Antonetti said. "And we're constantly thinking about, 'How do we find that right mix of guys to give us the best chance to compete each night at the major league level.' And we do believe that we will get reinforcements and support from some players that are not yet at the major league level." Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.