In the wild card race, the Guardians are 2 1/2 games out of the third and final spot. The Red Sox currently occupy that position by a half game over Texas and 1 1/2 games over Tampa Bay. Yes, the Guardians are still third in line, but at one point during their free fall there were five teams ahead of them in the chase for the last postseason spot.

The Guardians looked like they might be sellers after a 10-game skid but an 11-2 stretch has them back into the Wild Card race. So are they a buyer?

The Cleveland Guardians looked dead in the water a couple of weeks ago when the team was in the middle of a 10-game losing streak that sent them plummeting down the American League standings, leading many to wonder if selling at the trade deadline was an inevitability.