Stephen Vogt Gives Disappointing Update on Two Opening Day Staples for Cleveland

The Cleveland Guardians are just days away from the start of the 2026 MLB regular season.

And unfortunately, it looks like they may be without a few critical members of the major league roster.

On Thursday, March 19, ahead of one of the final spring training games of the year, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt spoke to the media about relief pitcher Hunter Gaddis and outfielder George Valera, both of whom have been out recently due to injury.

"They're progressing, you know, day by day," Vogt said. "You know, we're running out of time, we realize that, and so we may have to make some decisions soon, but they're both progressing well."

The update from Vogt isn't necessarily a bad one, but by saying that the team is running out of time, he is somewhat implying that they may not be ready by Opening Day. If that's the case, the Vogt and the coaching staff will have to make a few big adjustments to the lineup and bullpen that day.

#Guardians manager Stephen Vogt says that Hunter Gaddis and George Valera are “progressing day by day” but understands that with Opening Day approaching, the team “may have to make some decisions soon”#GuardsBall x @WEWS pic.twitter.com/OMb6bAi0l4
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) March 19, 2026

Gaddis has been out since his the spring training opener, suffering a shoulder injury. In that lone game on the mound, though, he was excellent, tossing two strikeouts in one inning of action.

He’s been a staple out of the bullpen over the past couple of seasons, not just for the Guardians, but across the league. Since the start of the 2024 campaign, he’s appeared in the second-most games in MLB.

Valera, on the other hand, has been fortunate enough to play most of spring training. He's increased his stock tenfold, pushing for a chance to be one of the team's starting outfielders for the 2026 campaign. Across 24 at-bats, he's struck seven hits, two doubles and a home run for four RBI.

It's important that both get healthy quickly, but not at the expense of long-term issues. They are expected to be very important players in the bullpen and at the plate this season.

Taking Their Places

Fortunately, because neither player is expected to miss significant time, the Guardians will likely avoid placing them on the injured list.

While that helps prevent a prolonged absence, it does leave the bullpen and bench slightly thinner in the short term.

Cleveland will likely turn to an outfielding lineup of Steven Kwan, Chase DeLauter and Angel Martinez if Valera isn't good to go. There's also a chance that one of either CJ Kayfus, Petey Halpin or Stuart Fairchild gets the nod to take up a bench spot if Valera's injury does take a bit more time to heal than expected.

In the bullpen, the coaching staff may just lean into the starting rotation as much as they can, avoiding wearing down the bullpen too quickly.

If they do get into tough spots where the starters need to bow out of the contest earlier than expected, the Guardians will likely turn to the newcomers Connor Brogdon, Shawn Armstrong and Colin Holderman, in hopes of taking over Gaddis' usual time.

Peyton Pallette and Erik Sabrowski are also expected to contribute in middle relief, while Cade Smith could handle closing duties.

The Guardians do have a very exciting bullpen; the only question is if the coaching staff can find the appropriate hierarchy that allows each to get in an early-season groove, even with Gaddis in a questionable state.