Guardians have golden opportunity shore up bullpen with Terry Francona favorite 

Last year, Terry Francona had another signature season at the top step of an MLB dugout in his first season leading the Cincinnati Reds.

Despite not having a hitter with a .270 batting average or 25 home runs, the Reds still managed to sneak into the postseason with 83 wins thanks to some perfect managing  from Francona. 

One of the biggest reasons the Reds were able to sneak into the postseason picture was the strong play of reliever Emilio Pagán, who allowed just one earned run over his final 12 innings of the year as the Reds went on a wild run toward the National League’s final postseason spot. 

Pagán is now hitting free agency after that strong finish to the season, where he’s received interest from “at least” 10 teams in free agency according to the Cincinnati Inquirer’s Gordon Wittenmyer. 

Although Wittenmyer reported that the Reds and Pagán have had some talks about him returning, it’s not a lock that he’s going to return to Cincinnati.

And, if Pagán isn’t destined to return to the Reds, he should be on the Guardians radar for 2026. 

Emilio Pagán would fill an obvious hole in the Guardians’ bullpen 

Last year, Pagán finished the year with a 2.88 ERA and career-high 32 saves in 68 2/3 innings in what was his best season since his breakout campaign with the Reds in 2019. It was also a far cry from the 4.50 ERA he posted in 2024 — a performance that was so subpar that he picked up his $8 million player option for 2025. 

Pagán would be a solid fit for a Guardians bullpen that’s a bit in flux. Although he had a career-high 32 saves last season, he’s not a closer and would work better as a high-leverage fireman in the middle innings. 

For the Guardians, he’d be a great bridge reliever to help get to Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith in the eighth and ninth inning. Although Stephen Vogt uses his bullpen a bit differently than Francona, the fact that Pagán was able to excel under a manager who had so much success in Cleveland. 

The 32-year-old’s career had been a bit of a winding road before his two seasons in Cincinnati. He opened his career with seasons in Seattle (2017), Oakland (2018) and Tampa Bay before spending two seasons in San Diego (2020 and ‘21) and Minnesota (‘22 and ‘23). 

When he’s at his best, he’s using his wipeout fastball to set up an above-average splitter. He held hitters to a .171 average on his fastball and .121 on his splitter. He finished the year in the 99th percentile in expected batting average (.183) and the 91st percentile in expected ERA (2.91). 

MLB Trade Rumors projects him to earn another two-year, $16 million contract identical to the one he signed with the Reds ahead of the 2024 season. 

The Guardians have proven they’re willing to spend to bolster their bullpen (they signed Paul Sewald to a $7.5 million contract last offseason) and Chris Antonetti has already gone on the record saying the Guardians are looking for external options to bolster their bullpen. 

There are plenty of interesting relief options available on the free agency market this year, but Pagán stands out as a solid option who could seamlessly fit into an open role in the Guardians’ bullpen.