Exploring potential reunion with former starter should be under consideration for the Cleveland Guardians

There is no doubt that the Cleveland Guardians will explore any and all possible additions they can make to their starting rotation, given how they rotated through pitchers last year, much like someone having a playlist on shuffle that is looking for one specific song or artist. Keeping that fact in mind, it would not be the worst idea to explore a potential reunion with a familiar face. That person? Cal Quantrill.

The Guardians unceremoniously moved on from Quantrill after putting up career worsts in ERA (5.24), WHIP (1.465), and strikeouts per nine innings (5.2). At the time this decision made sense, Cleveland was set to usher in a new area led by Shane Bieber, featuring second-year starters Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Logan Allen, in addition to a potential rebound campaign from Triston McKenzie. Unfortunately, Bibee was the only meaningful contributor over the course of the entire 2024 season due to a Spring Training injury to Williams, a season-ending injury to Bieber after two starts, and poor performances from McKenzie and Allen. The Guardians managed to piece together the rest of the rotation en route to an American League Central title and ALCS appearance, but they cannot afford to make the same mistake twice and should leave no stone unturned in their quest to fill out their rotation.

Quantrill might not be the most exciting name that could be targeted in free agency, but the familiarity between him and the Guardians, as well as returning to a less-hitter-friendly environment in Cleveland, could result in him being a serviceable pitcher again. However, considering the way that his time with the Guardians came to an end, no one would blame Quantrill if he was still somewhat miffed and would prefer to go elsewhere rather than come back to the organization that cast him aside.