Guardians Official ALDS Roster Released Ahead of Game 1 Against White Sox

The 2026 MLB Postseason is finally here for the Cleveland Guardians.

After finishing the regular season with an 85-77 overall record, earning them the No. 2 seed in the American League, the Guardians avoided the opening round and received a bye. Punching their ticket right to the Division Series, the Guardians are poised to go up against the Chicago White Sox.

The two sides will clash at 1:00 p.m. EST from Progressive Field on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Cleveland Guardians, Angel Genao — Sep 27, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Angel Genao (17) fields a ground ball during the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ahead of the matchup, the team released its official roster, with two relatively notable names left off the list.

Slade Cecconi

The Guardians decided to leave Cecconi off the playoff roster, turning instead to value some of the team's short-inning relief options.

As the 2026 campaign came to a close, Cecconi slowly fell out of the fold for the major league roster, as lefty Foster Griffin ended up taking his spot in the starting rotation. He was then brought out of the bullpen, but didn't end up making enough of an impact to warrant a postseason roster spot.

Instead, the team will trot out Shawn Armstrong, Joey Cantillo, Matt Festa, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, Erik Sabrowski and Cade Smith from the bullpen.

In the starting rotation, Cleveland will turn to Parker Messick, Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Griffin and Daniel Espino. Espino will likely serve as an opener for Cantillo out of the bullpen.

Here's the Guardians' ALDS roster. It's the same as the season-ending roster, minus Slade Cecconi and Austin Peterson. pic.twitter.com/HOJVzuxwa2
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) October 3, 2026

Austin Peterson

Peterson actually looked really sharp when utilized in limited opportunities this season.

Across two opportunities in relief, the 26-year-old posted a 0-1 record, 2.57 ERA and 0.857 WHIP, all while striking out eight batters. He only gave up four hits, two of which were home runs, across seven innings.

While experience likely led to him not being given the nod in the postseason, he made a good impression and will likely work this offseason to make the major league roster in 2027.

The Bats

The Guardians are making depth a priority, and while there are a few bats that will likely get featured very little in the postseason, each player gives the team something at the plate and another in the field.

At catcher, the Guardians will turn to the usuals: Austin Hedges and Patrick Bailey. In the outfield, there will be a mix of Jo Adell, Chase Delauter, David Fry, Petey Halpin, Steven Kwan and Angel Martinez. In the infield, Travis Bazzana, Angel Genao, Nathaniel Lowe, José Ramírez, Brayan Rocchio and Daniel Schneemann got the go-ahead.

Of the bunch, Fry and Schneemann stand out as two defensive selections, as both can play various positions in the infield and outfield.

While seeing the Guardians leave the likes of Kahlil Watson, Kyle Manzardo and even Ralphy Velazquez off the postseason roster does draw some thoughts, the front office is obviously leaning into experience and productivity, rather than potential.

After the outing on Saturday, the rest of the series will be played on Monday, Oct. 5, for Game 2, and Wednesday, Oct. 7, for Game 3. If Games 4 and 5 are needed, they will be played on Thursday, Oct. 8 and Saturday, Oct. 10, respectively.

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