4 former Guardians pitchers who could make a leap in 2026

The Guardians’ pitching factory has long been the envy of MLB, but that doesn’t mean that Cleveland is perfect. While the Guardians are one of baseball’s best at developing pitchers, there are also plenty of Guardians pitchers who have gone on to find success elsewhere after getting their start in Cleveland. 

Here are five former Guardians pitchers who could add to that trend in 2026. 

5 former Guardians pitchers who could make a leap in 2026 

Shane Bieber, free agent 

Bieber has the best résumé of any pitcher on this list and he’s done nothing but help himself over the past month during the Blue Jays’ postseason run.

After starting the season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery with the Guardians, Cleveland sent Bieber to Toronto at the trade deadline in exchange for pitching prospect Khal Stephen. The deal’s worked out for both sides, as Stephen pitched well in Double-A with Cleveland while Bieber recently pitched a gem for Toronto in the World Series. 

While Bieber won’t earn as much as he’s worth in free agency due to his injury history, his late-season performance should still earn him a solid payday (The Athletic’s Jim Bowden recently predicted he’d get a three-year, $75 million contract). 

The 2026 season will mark Bieber’s first fully healthy season since 2022, and we’re expecting him to look how he did during the height of his time with the Guardians.

Lucas Giolito, Boston Red Sox*

Giolito’s in an interesting position. The 31-year-old missed all of 2024 due to an arm injury, but returned in 2025 and posted a solid 3.41 ERA in 145 innings with the Red Sox, though he ended up missing the postseason with an elbow injury. 

That sets up an interesting postseason, as he has a $19 million dollar mutual option for 2026 alongside a $1.5 million buyout. While the expectation is that he’s going to opt-out of that mutual option, he’d still be eligible to receive the qualifying offer, which will be $22 million this year. If he doesn’t accept that (or isn't offered it) then he’ll become a free agent. 

Although his arm injury is a bit scary, Giolito looked a lot like his former All-Star self last season. If he’s able to avoid serious injury, he could get back to being a frontline starter in 2026. 

Reynaldo López, Atlanta Braves

López was quietly dominant during his short stint in Cleveland. He came to the Guardians in 2023 alongside Giolito and ended up tossing 11 scoreless innings for Cleveland down the stretch. 

He parlayed that into a three-year deal with the Braves and ended up becoming an All-Star in the first year of that deal when he had a 1.99 ERA in 135 1/3 innings.

He failed to build on that momentum last season, however, as he only made one start before undergoing season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder. 

López is expected to be healthy for 2025 and is set to be one of the most important players on the Braves’ stacked roster. The Braves haven’t had any decisions about moving him back to the bullpen, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Atlanta kick the tires on moving him to a relief role since they’re likely to lose Raisel Iglesias in free agency. 

But he should still be a dominant pitcher in 2026 regardless of the role Atlanta uses him in. 

Nick Sandlin, Toronto Blue Jays 

Another injured pitcher, the Guardians traded Sandlin to Toronto as a part of the deal that resulted in Luis Ortiz ending up in Cleveland. 

He got off a strong start to his season (2.20 ERA in 16 1/3 innings), but was placed on the injured list in July with right elbow inflammation that eventually ended his season. 

While the end of Sandlin’s time in Cleveland was frustratingly inconsistent, he seemed to be on the way to righting those wrongs during his brief MLB action with the Blue Jays. He should be a big part of their bullpen next season so long as he’s able to stay healthy.