3 former Guardians who could make most of non-roster invitee status with new club

The start of spring training means many things. Videos of pitchers throwing on back fields. Players saying they’re in the best shape of their life. And the annual rite of fans finding out more about some of the new players on their favorite team’s roster. 

And while Guardians fans have a variety of players on their roster this year that they’re going to need to learn about (pay attention to Stuart Fairchild), there are also plenty of former Guardians who are going to use the spring to introduce themselves to a new fanbase. 

Here are the three former Guardians on minor league deals who have the best chance to make a positive impression on their new employer this spring. 

These three former Guardians could quickly earn big league call-ups with their new team

RHP James Karinchak, Atlanta Braves 

It may seem hard to believe now, but there was once a point where Karinchak seemed like one of the most important players on the Guardians’ roster. 

After throwing 5 1/3 electric innings at the end of the 2019 campaign, Karinchak went on a bit of a journey where he pitched well in 2020, struggled in a (brief) stint as closer in 2021 and morphed into a shutdown setup man in 2022. 

When he was at his best, he was a strike throwing, obscenity-screaming psychopath on the mound. His outing against the Twins on Sept. 11, 2022 still stands out as one of the best moments of his Guardians career, as he finished off a 4-1 win less than 48 hours after Twins manager Rocco Baldelli had the umpires check his hair for foreign substances. 

But those eccentricities ended up becoming his downfall. Karinchak’s pre-pitch ritual included a variety of hair rubs and ball flips, which quickly became no-goes once the pitch clock was instituted in 2023. 

Karinchak ended up allowing three runs in 1/3 of an inning in his first appearance of the pitch clock era, which served as a tangible beginning of the end for his time in Cleveland. 

While he had a 3.23 ERA in 39 innings that season, he also allowed 28 walks and never seemed truly comfortable pitching with a clock ticking down. 

The Guardians outrighted him off their roster at the end of 2024 after he spent the entire season at Triple-A, and he pitched 29 1/3 innings at Triple-A for the White Sox before being released in July. 

While Karinchak has some clear red flags, it won’t take long for him to end up on Atlanta's big league roster if he's able to find his 2022 form. 

RHP Triston McKenzie, San Diego Padres 

Like Karinchak, there was one time where McKenzie looked like a key part of the Guardians' core. In fact, he looked so much like a piece of the core that The Athletic’s Zack Mesiel reported that McKenzie was among the players the Guardians were in “advanced negotiations” with in regard to a contract extension. 

That extension never ended up coming, which kicked off one of the biggest “what if” moments in recent Guardians history. 

At the time, a McKenzie extension seemed like a great move considering McKenzie was coming off a season where he posted 2.96 ERA in 191 1/3 innings. 

But he ended up suffering a teres major strain that spring that eventually led to him being diagnosed with a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. He elected to go with rehab over surgery. 

He threw 75 2/3 unimpressive innings in 2024 and was designated for assignment by the Guardians after an ill-fated stint in the bullpen at the start of 2025. 

Now he’s in camp with the Padres on a minor league deal that could quickly turn into a big league deal so long as he can prove he’s healthy.

The Padres don’t have a ton of minor league pitching depth thanks to AJ Preller’s wheeling and dealing, so a resurgent McKenzie would go a long way toward helping them in their quest to dethrone the Padres. 

RHP Eli Morgan, Kansas City Royals 

Although Morgan is the third Guardians pitcher to be included on this list, he could end up becoming the one Guardians fans remember the most thanks to the fact that he’s with another American League contender. 

After starting his Cleveland career as a starter, Morgan ended up transitioning to become one the team’s best middle-relief options, a she posted a 3.27 ERA in 176 innings out of the bullpen from 2022 to ‘24. 

But his time with the Guardians came to a quick end thanks to injuries. While he posted a 1.93 ERA in 42 innings in 2024, he had multiple stints on the injured list. That’s never a good sign for any pitcher, let alone one who doesn’t have overpowering stuff. 

The Guardians decided to pull the ripcord on the Morgan experiment by trading him to the Cubs in exchange for minor league outfielder Alfonsin Rosario. 

That’s become a clear win for the Guardians due to the fact that Morgan only appeared in seven games for the Cubs before suffering a season-ending injury while Rosario is one of the fastest-rising prospects in the Guardians’ system. 

The Royals have a solid relief core, but Morgan’s also has an impressive résumé. He should see time with the Royals’ big league team this year so long as he’s able to stay healthy.