Guardians could lose 2 useful players after setting 2026 Opening Day roster

The Cleveland Guardians 2026 Opening Day roster is here. And although there aren’t any huge surprises, Cleveland’s front office still had to make some big decisions around some key roster battles.

The biggest two roster battles came in the form of the final bullpen spot and last two spots in the outfield which went to Colin Holderman, Angel Martínez and CJ Kayfus, respectively. The Athletic's Zack Mesiel was among those to relay the news on social media.

The Guardians decision to roll with those three players means that outfielder Stuart Fairchild and reliever Kolby Allard are both on the outside, which could result in the Guardians losing either player to another team over the next 48 hours

Kolby Allard and Stuart Fairchild won’t make the Guardians’ Opening Day roster 

While the Guardians didn’t remove either player from their roster since they’re both on spring training deals, MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins reported yesterday that they both have upward mobility clauses in their contracts that gives them the chance to see opportunities with another team if they weren’t added to the Guardians’ roster. 

They’ll both now have that chance, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if either of them get scooped up by another team thanks to what they could bring to the table. 

The Guardians’ signed Fairchild to a minor league contract right around Christmas, and he hit .222 with one home run in 10 games with the Guardians this spring while also playing for Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic. 

While he showcased an stunning amount of pop in the WBC with two home runs in four games, his value is in his legs and contact approach. He would have been the fourth outfielder in the Guardians’ outfield, and could be scooped up by another team to fill that exact role. 

This is the second straight spring that Allard’s been in camp with the Guardians, and it’s the second straight spring that he’s not going to break camp with Cleveland. 

Last year Allard spent the first four weeks of the season at Triple-A before the Guardians called him up at the end of April. That kicked off a prosperous partnership where Allard turned in a career-best 2.63 ERA in 65 innings while pitching in a variety of roles. 

That wasn’t enough for him to stick on the roster in the offseason, as the Guardians outrighted him off their roster following the season. He elected free agency and eventually reunited with the Guardians on a minor league contract later in the offseason. 

He had a 4.05 ERA in 13 1/3 innings this spring and was briefly getting stretched out to work as a starter, but he eventually shifted back to a bullpen role. 

Allard seemed to have a leg up on Holderman thanks to the fact the Guardians open the season with 13 games in 14 days, but Cleveland’s front office ended up going with Holderman (who they signed to a one-year, $1.5 million contact in the offseason) and Codi Heuer, who they added to the 40-man roster over the weekend and subsequently sent to Triple-A. 

While these moves aren’t a guarantee that both players could end up leaving Cleveland (Allard stayed with the Guardians after being DFA’d last July and returned to the big league roster less than a week later), but they’ll both get a chance to explore the free agency landscape. 

And if they do get scooped up, they both have a chance to turn into a player who could haunt Guardians fans.