CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Roster moves could be coming for the Guardians in the coming days with only five games left in the regular season.
All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan and starting pitcher Alex Cobb remain on the injured list, with the hopes of returning to the major league roster ahead of a postseason run.
“Kwan’s doing great,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “He’s got another day today. He’s going to take some at-bats in the cage. Just kind of check the final boxes to hopefully be back very soon.”
Kwan has been participating in baseball activities throughout his stint on the injured list. His placement on the 10-day IL is retroactive to September 14th, meaning he could be activated at any point as he recovers from mid-back inflammation.
While Kwan might be back in the lineup in the coming days, that might not be the case for Alex Cobb.
“Bullpen yesterday went really well,” Vogt said. “He was able to throw, I think 30-something pitches no issues, so we’ll see how he feels after throwing today and determine the next steps tomorrow.”
Cobb has thrown in simulated games and bullpen sessions as he treats a right-hand blister that landed him on the 15-day injured list on September 12th. In three starts this season with Cleveland, the 13-year MLB veteran owns a 2-1 record with a 2.76 ERA.
“I’m not sure about that,” Vogt said when asked if Cobb could make a rehab start. “I think right now we’re going day-to-day. We haven’t talked about a rehab start that I know of, so we’ll just have to wait and see how he feels today and tomorrow and then we can really assess what the best plan is.”
Five more – The Guardians start their final homestand of the regular season on Tuesday. They welcome the Reds into town for two games before hosting the Astros for a three-game weekend series to finish the season.
“It’s funny, you know, you get down to the end of the year and our main focus is still today,” Vogt said. “But yet we still have to project out and things like that. For me, my main focus is today, and we’re going to feel that way all the way through Sunday.”
Cleveland’s five days removed from clinching their 17th playoff appearance in franchise history. The Guardians will compete in the postseason for the sixth time in nine seasons.
“Our guys are still working really hard because you never know which rep it’s going to click,” Vogt said. “You might feel something that’s going to lead you into a playoff push, same thing on the pitching side. You never know what rep you’re going to feel what you’ve been searching for.”
October baseball – The Guardians have already punched their ticket to the postseason and won the AL Central, but they have yet to secure a top-two seed in the American League.
With one more win this season or one more Astros loss, the Guardians would clinch a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the ALDS.
“I think our team’s very primed for a playoff run because of who we are,” Vogt said. “We have to fight and claw every single game. These guys have proved that all year we’re never out of a game. We know whoever we’re fortunate enough to play in the postseason is going to be an absolute dogfight because these are the best teams in the league.”
The Orioles, Tigers, and Royals are the current American League wild card teams, with the Twins and Mariners on the outside looking in.
The Tigers are suddenly in the mix after winning 12 of their last 15 games. At 83-74, Detroit has climbed their way into second place in the division.
“I don’t think there’s any team that you want to play in the postseason,” Vogt said. “All these teams are going to be really good. I think it’s a great story that there are four AL Central teams in the hunt. I think it shows what this division has been all year and that’s been a really tough division to win games.”
As it stands, the Astros and the Royals would play in a wild card series to determine who shows up in the Guardians bracket.
