Guardians Coaching Staff Trusting 2026 Offseason Signing in High-Leverage Moments

With the Cleveland Guardians seeing reliever Shawn Armstrong still attempting to recover from injury, Colin Holderman's breakout has been a nice sigh of relief.

May 2, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Colin Holderman (35) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

Trust, just like respect, isn't given; it's earned.

And although he hasn't been in Cleveland very long, late-game reliever Colin Holderman has earned the trust of his coaching staff already.

Before the Cleveland Guardians were set to take on the Los Angeles Angels in the second outing of a three-game set, bench coach Tony Arnerich, who has been serving as the acting manager for Stephen Vogt due to illness, spoke to the ability to trust that Holderman can keep the Guardians intact in high-leverage situations.

Holderman has stepped into a big role with the previous setup arm, Shawn Armstrong, suffering a groin injury.

"I mean, he's pitched for a while now, and the stuff is real," Arnerich began. "You guys see the stuff coming out of his hand. I mean, it is... a heavy, heavy sinker, and the sweeper, it sweeps man. So when he's in the zone, again, that's kind of a common theme, but when he's attacking, he just suffocates hitters."

On the campaign, Holderman has now pitched 14.2 innings, posting a 1.84 ERA and 0.75 WHIP with a .135 batting average against. He isn't letting many guys on base, and if they do, he doesn't let them get around and score.

He has only allowed seven total hits, four walks and three earned runs, all while striking out a strong clip of 17 batters.

As Arnerich went on to explain, Holderman's pitch mix makes him such a dynamic arm for batters to go up against.

"You know they want to see one, now you're 0-1, and it's 97 with sink, and then he throws you a 20-inch sweeper. I mean, that's really hard to cover both those things, and then he gets an advantage count, so he has a lot of those two options to go to, and then the occasional four-seam that he can shoot at the top as well.

"He's pitching a good counsel, so he suffocates hitters, and it's really hard."

Before joining the Guardians this past offseason, Holderman had spent the previous four seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. After posting a respectable 3.86 ERA in 2023 and a 3.16 ERA in 2024, he dropped off a little bit in 2025.

That campaign, he struggled, appearing in 24 games in the big leagues, showcasing a 7.01 ERA, before spending time in Triple-A with Indianapolis.

"I've been in the big leagues for a few years," said Holderman when reflecting on working his way back up from the minors a few times. "You know, going back to Triple-A is always a little gut check. But, you know, we went down there for a reason. We executed that, and we're back, and we're just doing the same thing."

Now, with Cleveland, he's displaying why the front office took a chance on him this offseason.

He has the high velocity, with him recording the five fastest thrown balls in the series opener against the Angels on Monday night, and he has the control. If he can keep this up, the Guardians may have found their long-term setup to closer Cade Smith.

"It's a long season," said Holderman. "You don't ride the highs or the lows. You just kind of try to stay in the middle as much as you can. Obviously, you get dragged up and dragged down a little bit. But tomorrow's just another day."