Yankees and 4 other biggest losers in playoff probability changes this month

4. The Guardians have dropped their postseason possibility by 15.50% in August

At the trade deadline, the Cleveland Guardians found themselves in a tough spot. They didn’t have a great record and they likely wouldn’t compete for the AL Wild Card, but the AL Central was so bad that they found themselves with over a 25% chance to make the playoffs, according to Fangraphs.

Ultimately, Cleveland opted to stay the course of their rebuild, trading away a few expiring contracts and not risking their farm system in any win-now moves. These decisions have had direct impacts on their play and their playoff odds. After having over a 25% chance to make the postseason, after just 10 days, it’s dropped to around 12%.

Guardians’ fans may not be happy with the decision to plan for the future, as it’s left them 3.5 games behind the Twins for the AL Central lead. Despite the disappointment in the fanbase, the front office is trusting the process and it’ll likely result in a very competitive Guardians team over the next few seasons, if all goes right.

Despite all the losses in August, Cleveland was able to score a first-round knockout over the White Sox in their only boxing match of the season.