Could Joey Cantillo's future be as a shutdown reliever in the bullpen?

Joey Cantillo is as reliable as they come.

The 25-year-old has been working hard to find his role major league role with the Guardians this season. After starting the year in the bullpen, Cantillo was pushed into Cleveland's rotation after Luis Ortiz's suspension.

While he did okay in his first foray into the rotation, the Guardians sent him down to Triple-A so he could work on his ability to attack the strike zone, and the results have been great.

Cantillo's put together a 0.95 ERA across his last three starts (19 innings) and now has a 3.77 ERA across 124 innings in his career. That consistency is promising when thinking about his career moving forward. Additionally, he has a 3.27 ERA with 95 strikeouts this year in 85 1/3 innings.

As mentioned above, the Guardians decided to send Cantillo down to Triple-A last month and encouraged him to attack the zone and throw more strikes. Cantillo had been relying too heavily on his fastball and changeup, with the Guardians wanted to see him be more aggressive with his other pitches while continuing to pound the zone with his other offers.

Fortunately, he bounced back after his time in the minors and has looked great in September.

Joey Cantillo's strong finish to the season could help him become a strong weapon out of the bullpen next season

On Sept. 3, he tossed six solid innings against the Red Sox, where he tallied seven strikeouts and allowed just five hits in an 8-1 Guardians win.

Six days later he put together a masterclass with eight scoreless innings in a 2-0 win over the Royals. Seventy-two of his 92 pitches went for strikes in what's been the best start of his career.

“That was Pitching 101 from Joey Cantillo tonight, and that was a lot of fun to watch,” manager Stephen Vogt said after the game.

While it is obvious that Cantillo has found his rhythm on the mound for the Guardians, the question now is what his role will be with the Guardians in 2026.

The Guardians have an abundance of strong starters like Parker Messick, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen and Slade Cecconi, which means that Cantillo's best fit may be to be an inning-eater out of the bullpen.

Cantillo started the season as a reliever and posted a 3.81 ERA with a save and hold in 28 1/3 innings, but it seemed like he struggled to get into a rhythm as a single-inning reliever.

The best way for him to help the Guardians in 2026 is by working as a multi-inning reliever in the same way that Kolby Allard has helped the Guardians this year. Moving Cantillo to the bullpen would give the Guardians a reliable pitcher out of the bullpen who will have some newfound confidence after his strong showing this season.

As long as Cantillo can keep his walk percentage down and continue to beef up his strikeout percentage, he has a great case to be one of the top pitchers out of the bullpen for the team on Opening Day.