3 non-roster invites who could surprise Guardians and make impact in 2026

Every year there are countless MLB veterans who head to big league spring training as non-roster invitees, which means that they get a chance to prove themselves in spring training while not taking up a roster spot. 

The Guardians have become one of baseball’s best at taking advantage of that system, as they’ve had multiple NRI success stories in recent years, with the most recent example being Kolby Allard last season. 

The Guardians clearly have a roster that’s still in flux, which means they could end tapping in their minor league depth early and often in 2026. 

Here are three Guardians who will be in camp this year as non-roster invitees who could end up working their way into a roster spot

These three Guardians could make the big league roster as non-roster invitees 

RHP Pedro Avila

Avila threw his way into Cleveland’s heart in 2024 thanks to his magnanimous personality and ability to take the ball any day regardless of role. 

But his initial stay in Cleveland proved to be short, as he was designated for assignment last January to make room for Paul Sewald. 

But now he’s back after a season in Japan and seems set to make a big league impact in some way despite only being on a minor league deal. 

Avila had a 3.25 ERA in 74 2/3 innings with the Guardians in 2024 and is the quintessential depth arm. While you don’t want him pitching in high-leverage situations, he’s the perfect bridge guy who can help you hold the lead in the middle innings or keep a deficit close. 

Every bullpen cycles through guys at a striking rate due to the attrition of an 162-game season, and Avila seems like he could be one of the first guys called up for the Guardians so long as he doesn’t break camp with the team. 

OF Stuart Fairchild 

The lone offensive addition the Guardians have made this winter, Fairchild played in 28 games with the Braves last season and slashed .216/.273/.333 with two RBI and two stolen bases. 

He’s a career .223 hitter across 277 career games with the Diamondbacks, Giants, Mariners, Reds and Braves. His best season came in 2024 when he had eight home runs and 30 RBI with 13 steals in 94 games with the Reds. 

While Fairchild doesn’t have a ton of pop, he posted an elite chase rate of 19% last season in his limited action while also posting an above average sprint speed of 28.8 ft/sec, so it’s not hard to figure out why the Guardians’ front office liked him. 

Fairchild is a solid depth option to have in spring, but he’s not the long-term answer the Guardians need to fill their holes in the outfield.

The Guardians’ front office has held off on adding any impact outfielders because they (seemingly) want to give their young outfielders as many chances as possible to make the Opening Day roster, and adding Fairchild on a minor league deal fits into that thinking. 

The Guardians have broken camp with plenty of veteran outfielders on their roster in years prior, so Fairchild breaking camp with the team wouldn’t be unprecedented. It’s just hard to imagine that happening without some kind of injury impacting the roster. 

RHP Codi Heuer 

There were a couple options we considered here, but we decided to go with the more “proven” commodity in Heuer, who has thrown 95 2/3 innings in his major league career and threw 4 2/3 innings last season while with the Tigers and Rangers. 

Heuer broke through in 2020 with the White Sox and posted a 1.52 ERA in 23 2/3 innings with a 98 mile per hour fastball, but he was traded to the Cubs at the trade deadline in 2021 and before disappearing into the baseball wilderness due to a variety of arm and elbow injuries. 

He should have no problem cracking into the Guardians’ bullpen picture at some point in 2026 so long as he’s able to stay healthy.