Cleveland Guardians to retain important part of coaching staff

The Cleveland Guardians have made an announcement regarding their coaching staff for the 2026 season. Pitching Coach Carl Willis will return for his 16th season and 9th straight.

There had been speculation that Willis, 64, may step down following the 2025 season, but as Cleveland.com reported, it has been confirmed he will return next season.

Willis had initial stints in Cleveland from 2003-09 before leaving for tenures with Seattle and Boston. He returned in 2018 under Terry Francona and was retained by Stephen Vogt.

The main reason the Guardians had their miraculous comeback and won the AL Central was the pitching staff. As a whole, the staff ranked fourth in baseball with a 3.70 ERA. The staff was also top ten in baseball when it came to batting average against at .238.

Let’s take a look at the starters. Gavin Williams had a breakout season, pitching to a 3.06 ERA, good for 7th in the American League, and a 12-5 record. Logan Allen started to return to the form Guardians fans were familiar with. He had a 4.25 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 29 starts.

Those 122 strikeouts and 29 starts were both career highs. Parker Messick had seven starts, and they were extremely impressive. Messick went 3-1 with a 2.72 ERA to go along with 38 strikeouts. Even Tanner Bibee started to pitch much better in September and October, allowing just five runs in five starts, including one complete game shutout.

Not to mention the work Willis did with Slace Cecconi, Joey Cantillo, and even Luis Ortiz, who were all serviceable starters when they were out there.

As for the bullpen, they had the third-best ERA in all of baseball at 3.44 and second in saves with 47. And this is without Emmanuel Clase for the last portion of the season.

Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Jakob Junis, and Matt Festa were the three most relied upon relievers, outside of Clase, this past season. Smith had a 2.93 ERA with 104 strikeouts in 76 appearances. Gaddis had a 3.11 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 73 appearances. Junis had an impressive 2.93 ERA in his first full season as a reliever. Even Matt Festa and his 4.11 ERA was an above-average bullpen arm, with his 102 ERA+.

Not to mention the absolute studs Willis has coached throughout the years. This includes three Cy Young winners: CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, and Shane Bieber.

Retaining Carl Willis heading into 2026 is massive for a staff that emerged as a strength after an offseason of question marks. Keeping the pitching staff and coaching consistent for these young arms is imperative while the offensive side of things continues to build and develop. The Guardians will rely upon their arms yet again in 2026, and Willis is at the center of all of it.