The Cleveland Guardians' offensive struggles were a major talking point during the early portion of the 2023 season. Cleveland's offense is still far from perfect, but superstar Jose Ramirez is finally receiving some help. Josh Naylor is quietly making an All-Star case for himself, hitting .447 with nine RBI and seven runs scored over Cleveland's past nine games, per MLB Network.

Naylor is now slashing .288/.333/.456 with a .789 OPS and eight home runs on the season. He's also clubbed 12 doubles and stolen four bases. Jose Ramirez and the Guardians still need hitters such as Steven Kwan, Andres Gimenez, and Josh Bell to wake their bats up, but Naylor's contributions have been important without question.

Ramirez is once again having a strong campaign. He's arguably the best third baseman in MLB and is a model of consistency. Ramirez is slashing .289/.357/.498 with an .855 OPS and 10 home runs as of this story's publication. Additionally, he's tallied 19 doubles and six stolen bases.

Overall, the Guardians' record isn't where they want it to be. Cleveland is currently just 32-36, however, they trail the Minnesota Twins by just 2.5 games in the American League Central. The AL Central is arguably the worst division in baseball so Cleveland has a legitimate opportunity to compete moving forward. They will be in an especially good position if Naylor continues to help Ramirez moving forward.

It will be interesting to see what moves the Guardians make ahead of the 2023 MLB trade deadline. Even if they trade a star like Shane Bieber, the Guards will still likely compete for a division title given their ability to re-tool on the fly.