Cade Smith continues to provide Guardians fans with greatest gift in baseball 

For some MLB fanbases, the ninth inning is a white-knuckle affair that can lead to fans reaching en masse for a jar of Tums. 

That’s not the case in Cleveland. 

After getting All-World production for four-and-a-half years from Emmanuel Clase, Cade Smith was thrust into the role last August after Clase was placed on a paid leave for a sports betting investigation. 

While Smith has still never officially been named the Guardians’ closer, he’s dominated since taking over the ninth inning and became the first closer to reach 20 saves after tossing a scoreless ninth inning against the Red Sox. 

Smith has recorded a 2.60 ERA with an MLB-leading 33 saves since last August (when Clase was placed on paid leave) while being worth 2.7 fWAR, which is the highest mark in baseball among relievers in that time period. 

Not too shabby. 

Cade Smith has been a great closer for Guardians

The only real speed bump Smith has hit since taking over as closer came earlier this year when he limped through the start of the season and allowed five earned runs over his first six innings. 

But he’s settled in since and has allowed just three earned runs in the last 21 2/3 innings. 

Although he’s tracking to have 70+ appearances for the third straight season (he leads baseball with 23 appearances), manager Stephen Vogt said earlier today that he’s going to continue to be deliberate about Smith’s playing time. 

“We’re smart; We don’t overuse anybody,” Vogt said earlier today. “I’m very stubborn with days off even when I don’t want to give them days off but that’s why we have eight guys who can pitch in leverage. Cade’s very in tune with who he is and where he’s at and he’s very honest.”

Part of the reason he can feel comfortable doing that is the amount of fellow high-leverage relievers lurking in the bullpen ahead of Smith. 

Not only has Colin Holderman found his groove in May (0.63 ERA), but Hunter Gaddis has started to look like his pre-injury self and Shawn Armstrong is starting to look like the pitcher the Guardians expected him to be when they signed him.

But any conversation about the end of the game for the Guardians begins and ends with Smith, who became the first pitcher to reach the 20-save plateau last night. 

He’s struck out nearly 38% of the batters he’s faced this year and is walking just 4.5% of them. He’s getting some of the best swing-and-miss of his career while simultaneously having the best command of his career. 

Smith was a valuable part of the Guardians roster in his first year-and-a-half with the team thanks to his lights out work as a set up reliever. But he’s been able to reach an even higher level since sliding into the ninth inning. 

And that uptick has led to the ninth inning being boring again in Cleveland.

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