Guardians continue bullpen restructuring by calling up reliever with MLB experience 

Another day, another bullpen move for the Cleveland Guardians. 

After calling up Franco Aleman last week to take Connor Brogdon’s spot on the roster, the Guardians sent Aleman down to Triple-A on Wednesday to make room for fellow reliever Codi Heuer. 

The move is two-fold for the Guardians. While it gives them another arm in the short-term (Aleman has thrown twice over the past three days and the Guardians are at the end of playing 13 games in 13 days), it also gives them a  chance to see what Heuer can bring to the table after he got off to a strong start in Triple-A. 

Heuer has posted a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings with Columbus this season, and, perhaps most importantly, has looked like the pitcher that he was before injuries derailed his career. 

Heuer initially broke into the big leagues with the White Sox in 2020 with a 1.52 ERA in 23 2/3 innings before being traded to the Cubs at the deadline in 2021 as a part of Chicago’s return for Craig Kimbrel. 

He had a 3.14 ERA in 28 2/3 innings with the Cubs in the second half of the season before undergoing Tommy John surgery and subsequent elbow surgery that kept him out of MLB until last year. He made his return last season in the form of 4 2/3 innings with the Rangers and Tigers. 

The Guardians inked him to a minor league deal in the offseason and added him to their 40-man roster at the end of spring training, so his big league debut always seemed like a matter of “when,” not “if.” 

Codi Heuer could end up becoming an important pitcher in the Guardians’ bullpen

That “when” became “now” earlier today thanks in part to how taxed the Guardians’ bullpen has been over the past 13 days. 

The final straw came on Tuesday when they were forced to cover five innings after Slade Cecconi’s inconsistent four inning start against the Angels. 

The Guardians' bullpen has had to cover 44 2/3 innings since the start of May (seventh-most in MLB) and has posted a 3.22 ERA. 

Aleman’s stint in Columbus likely won’t be for long, as Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was quick to say the move was to get a fresh arm in the bullpen rather than Aleman’s performance. 

Aleman allowed one run in his two outings with the Guardians while also flashing his 96 mile per hour fastball, and there’s still a good chance he’s going to be a part of the Guardians’ late-game equation by the end of the season. 

The same could be said for Heuer, who has racked up 12 strikeouts in those 14 Triple-A innings. He has a bit less versatility than Aleman (all of his appearances with Columbus have been for one inning), but he should enter a bit higher on the trust tree thanks to his previous MLB experience. 

Heuer still has one minor league option remaining, so the Guardians could also choose to shuttle him between Cleveland and Columbus, should they choose. 

The Guardians made the right decision to DFA Brogdon in favor of Aleman, and their decision to shuffle him and Heuer is good rooster management to help keep the bullpen fresh.

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