Franco Aleman could be the solution to Guardians' bullpen problems

On Sunday afternoon, the Progressive Field bullpen doors opened ahead of the top of the seventh inning and Franco Aleman ran out. 

After getting called up Friday, Aleman sat for the next two games before being called upon on Sunday with the Guardians trailing 5-3. 

While Cleveland’s offense wasn’t able to scrape those two runs across the board to knot the game up, Aleman did his part with two scoreless innings where he allowed two hits and struck out one. 

That kind of outing usually gets lost to time since it came in long-relief in a game the Guardians were already trailing. It’s about as low-leverage as you can get. But don’t be surprised if Aleman’s outing ends up becoming the first stepping stone to him working in a high-leverage role by the time the season’s over. 

Franco Aleman passed his first test in the Guardians’ bullpen

Aleman earned his promotion on the back of a dominant showing at Triple-A where he posted 12 scoreless innings with four walks and 18 strikeouts. The Guardians have always thought highly of his stuff, but he tallied just 59 1/3 innings across the 2024 and ‘25 seasons thanks to a right oblique strain in 2024 and left hip inguinal hernia repair in 2025. 

But now he’s fully healthy and flashing the kind of arsenal that is a necessity at the back of a bullpen. His fastball averaged 97.1 miles per hour in the outing, and his lone strikeout came when he blew a 98 mph heater past Byron Buxton. 

Not bad for a guy who was throwing to a catcher he’d likely never worked with before in Patrick Bailey. 

"He's worked a long time to get here,” Guardians bench coach Tony Arnerich said after the outing. “To finally see him get that chance and opportunity, and make the most of it and pitch really well, that's good for us and for him.”

Even if the Guardians decide to ease Aleman into their big league bullpen, it’s only going to be a matter of time until he’s going to be called in to put out a fire. 

Peyton Pallette has been working as the main low-leverage arm since he’s a Rule 5 pick, but the Guardians were forced to call on him to work two innings in Saturday’s demoralizing loss. There’s only so many places you can hide a reliever in a big league bullpen, 

There’s also a role for Aleman to grab since the middle of the Guardians’ bullpen is still a bit in flux. Cade Smith’s re-found his closer form and Erik Sabrowski has become an elite setup weapon, but everything else is kind of malleable. Tim Herrin has yet to allow an earned run, but he’s also walked eight batters in 12 2/3 innings. 

Colin Holderman’s done well since being recalled from Triple-A, but he may be more valuable as a long reliever. 

If Aleman’s able to keep this up, it won’t be long until he’s a part of that high-leverage equation.

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