What the Cleveland Guardians are Quietly Prioritizing in Bullpen Roles

Four games into Spring Training in Goodyear, Arizona, the Cleveland Guardians find themselves with more questions than answers in regard to their bullpen depth.

The Guardians have built a reputation over the past two decades for developing successful pitchers across their organization. In recent years, their starting rotation has been loaded with potential aces, but the bullpen remains an area still searching for a few more reliable options.

Fortunately, over the past two seasons, Cleveland has brought in a long list of bullpen arms, though few have established themselves as reliable options. Spring Training offers those fringe pitchers an opportunity to earn a spot on the 40-man roster by Opening Day, with plenty of room for standout performances to shape the final bullpen.

That’s the beauty of Spring Training—it gives the Guardians a chance to evaluate a deep group of pitchers in Arizona and determine who fits best into their plans, with several key bullpen priorities taking shape in the weeks ahead.

Establishing late-inning roles

Over the course of the offseason, the Guardians front office went out and signed a few arms to help fill out their bullpen, especially those who see late inning playing time. A few of those arms being Shawn Armstrong, Connor Brogdon, and Colin Holderman, who are expected to see playing time with Cleveland.

Cleveland’s bullpen features both new faces and familiar arms, with the organization’s proven track record for turning raw talent into reliable contributors on display.

Along with recently re-signed reliever Pedro Avila, established names like Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski, and Tim Herrin are expected to play key roles as the Guardians sort out which combinations best complement closer Cade Smith in the late innings.

Identifying Clase’s successor

As of now, Cade Smith has earned himself the unanimous closer role with the Guardians, especially after the loss of Emmanuel Clase due to his illegal gambling. While this is promising to consider his success in 2025, there is still a need for another proven reliever to assist Smith on his off days.

Cleveland will mix and match bullpen combinations in 2026 based on the prior day’s starter, potentially slotting Hunter Gaddis or Shawn Armstrong into endgame situations to back up Smith. Tim Herrin also offers matchup flexibility, who thrives against left-handed hitters when needed.

Building depth beyond the usual seven

Cleveland added almost a half-dozen relievers throughout the winter, which surely indicated they are banking on their depth and matchup versatility.

One of their main points of emphasis was bringing in relievers who can go more than just an inning, as well as ones that can handle situations where on-base traffic may be concerning. Spring Training should help Carl Willis and Stephen Vogt sort out who they believe can help control the middle innings of some of their tough matchups this season.

Mixing fresh arms with familiar ones

As previously mentioned, Connor Brogdon and Colin Holderman are newly acquired arms to help their bullpen as the season gets underway. Spring Training will be crucial for these two to establish themselves as key members of their middle-of-the-pack pitchers.

Matt Festa and Kolby Allard are two players that have been with this team prior to this offseason, so they will be in the mix to earn time throughout games. Newcomer Cam Schuelke will be an interesting name to watch for through the next month to see where he falls in the bullpen, especially with his unique submarine-style pitching that can impact their bullpen.