Why Matt Festa's Promising WBC Showing Should Give Guardians Fans Hope

If there was ever a season that the Cleveland Guardians need the pitching to be excellent, it'll be 2026.

Heading into a new season, the Guardians are going to be trotting out countless young, talented prospects at the plate. While that's exciting, they'll be inexperienced and raw, meaning that the one consistency that the coaching staff can control is its pitching, which sees a staff that's all relatively familiar with the big leagues.

And fortunately, one of the most important bullpen arms, Matt Festa, has looked sharp on the biggest stage of them all.

At the World Baseball Classic, Festa was given the nod in a late-game situation for Team Italy against Great Britain, where he trotted out and got the job done with ease. In one inning on the mound, he threw two strikeouts and allowed just one hit.

Festa scoreless inning with two punchies on the #WorldBaseballClassic stage!#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/K01MVt3aqr
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) March 8, 2026

Playing like that in the WBC will not only increase his stock but also the trust from his coaching staff that he can handle high-pressure moments. Suiting up and pitching for your respective country isn't a light task, and Festa handled it great.

So far, that showing against Great Britain is the only taste he's been able to get in the WBC, but with bracket play beginning soon, he'll likely take a step up in playing time. In total, Italy's coaching staff has utilized 11 arms.

Festa's Time in Cleveland

Heading into a new season in MLB action, he's looking to continue his role as one of the Guardians' more important relievers.

He was acquired by the front office at the tail-end of April from the Texas Rangers in exchange for cash considerations. The move didn't immediately turn heads, but after he settled in, it was obvious that he was really important to the Guardians' success once the starters came out of the game.

He pitched in 54.2 innings, putting up a 4.12 ERA and a 1.079 WHIP, all while averaging a nice 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings. He also wasn't allowing opposing batters to square away the ball, holding them to under a home run per nine innings.

Of his 63 games played, he tossed over 1.0 innings in 10 of them, showing the ability to be on the mound for a chunk of time. In all of those appearances, he allowed just 13 hits and nine earned runs, showing good control as well.

In the postseason, Festa pitched just once but didn’t give up a run and struck out a batter. If the team had made it past the opening round, he would've likely gotten even more chances to showoff his arm.

Cleveland trusted Festa to go out and play a career-high amount of innings in 2025, and as long as there is no drastic decline in just a few months, he's poised to surpass that amount yet again.

In 2026, he's going to be critical for the team's early-season success. With guys like Joey Cantillo and Logan Allen still trying to settle into their respective careers, Festa and the rest of the bullpen are going to be relied upon a fair amount when things go awry.

Fortunately, he has started off a new calendar year of baseball on the right note.