Guardians jettison fan favorite reliever off roster as part of 40-man roster crunch

Last season Nic Enright burst onto the scene with the Guardians. 

After a wild minor league journey that included an inclusion in the Rule 5 Draft along with a battle with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma that included four rounds of immunotherapy, Enright made his MLB debut for Cleveland last year, where he posted a 2.03 ERA in 31 innings. 

But that journey hit a huge roadblock at the beginning of September when Enright suffered an arm injury that resulted in him undergoing Tommy John surgery last month. 

It hit an even bigger roadblock on Tuesday when the Guardians designated Enright for assignment to clear space for the bevy of prospects to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. 

The Guardians had three free 40-man roster spots but decided to DFA Enright to free up another spot. RHP Austin Peterson, OF Khalil Watson, INF Angel Geano and RHP Yorman Gómez were the four prospects added to the Guardians’ roster. 

Tuesday evening marked the deadline for teams to add eligible minor leaguers to their 40-man roster to avoid leaving them vulnerable in the Rule 5 Draft, which led almost every team making some kind of roster move(s) to free up space on their roster. 

The Guardians tighten 40-man roster picture by DFAing Nic Enright

Although the additions of Peterson, Watson and Geano to the 40-man roster aren’t a huge surprise given their prospect pedigree (and the fact the Guardians had three open 40-man roster spots), Gómez’s addition is a bit of a surprise given he’s not on the Guardians’ list of top-30 prospects. 

A 23-year-old, he’s been in the Guardians’ system since 2021, and posted a 2.96 ERA in 121 2/3 innings last season across High-A and Double-A. He led Cleveland’s minor league system with wins (12) and strikeouts (139). 

Some notable players who were left unprotected for the Rule 5 Draft Wuilfredo Antunez, Kody Huff, Milan Tolentino, Dylan DeLucia, Trenton Denholm, Ryan Webb and Steve Perez. MLB Pipeline recently named Antunez as Cleveland’s toughest 40-man roster decision thanks to his scalding hot performance in the Arizona Fall League. 

Of the four prospects the Guardians added to their 40-man roster, Watson and Peterson have the best chance to impact the Guardians next season. Watson has slowly been ascending through Cleveland’s farm system since being acquired by the Guardians at the 2023 trade deadline and finished last season at Triple-A, where he hit .255 with eight home runs in 43 games. 

Peterson worked almost exclusively as a starter last year in the minors but has an intriguing skillset that could work in a variety of roles. He led Cleveland’s minor league pitchers with 145 2/3 innings across Double-A and Triple-A 

Geano struggled a bit in 2025 after a breakout 2024 season, and finished last season in Double-A. He’ll likely start next season in Triple-A Columbus.