Cleveland Baseball Insider

Cleveland Guardians Sign Former Top Prospect Pitcher

The Cleveland Guardians have signed a former top prospect pitcher.
Matthew Schmidt|
Aug 25, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Kolby Allard (49) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images
Aug 25, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Kolby Allard (49) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

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Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians still need to add some pitching help, even after re-signing Shane Bieber and swinging a trade for Luis Ortiz.

The problem is that much of the free-agent market has dried up, and some of the top remaining starting pitchers will probably be too costly for the Guardians' blood.

As a result, Cleveland may look to pick up cheap options, much like it did last year when it signed Ben Lively.

Well, the Guardians are apparently hoping to catch lightning in a bottle twice, as they just signed left-handed pitcher Kolby Allard to a minor-league contract.

Allard is a former first-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2015 and was a top prospect for several years.

He finally broke into the big leagues in 2018, but struggled in limited action with the Braves, logging a 12.38 ERA over three appearances.

Atlanta then traded him to the Texas Rangers, where he proceeded to spend four tumultuous seasons. His most action came in 2021, when he went 3-12 with a 5.41 ERA over 32 outings and 17 starts.

The Rangers actually dealt Allard back to the Braves after 2022, where he would spend one season before signing with the Philadelphia Phillies in free agency.

Last year, he made seven appearances and four starts for the Phillies, going 0-1 with a 6.57 ERA.

Allard owns a lifetime 5.99 ERA across 76 games and 42 starts, laying claim to a very troublesome 1.445 WHIP.

Obviously, the Guardians must see something in him. Maybe the 27-year-old can turn things around in Cleveland.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

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