Guardians reinforce bullpen by signing intriguing veteran to minor league deal

One of the oldest adages in the history of baseball is that you can never have too much pitching. 

The 2026 Cleveland Guardians are trying to test the truth of that statement. After bringing in five other relievers during the offseason (and already cutting one of them), the Guardians brought in yet another relief arm on Monday by signing right-handed pitcher Codi Heuer to a minor league deal.

Guardians add Codi Heuer on minor league deal 

Heuer, 29, is coming off a season where he made one MLB appearance for the Rangers and two for the Tigers. He allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings during his stint with the Tigers and two runs in 3 1/3 innings across his time with the Rangers. 

He posted a 3.14 ERA in 44 games at Triple-A across his time at the level with both clubs. 

Heuer burst onto the scene with the White Sox in 2020 when he posted a sparkling 1.52 ERA in 23 2/3 innings out of the bullpen for a White Sox team that made it to the expanded postseason. 

His stay on the south side of Chicago was short-lived, however, as the White Sox traded him to the Cubs at the deadline in 2021 alongside Nick Madrigal in exchange for Craig Kimbrel. Heuer had a 3.14 ERA in the second half with the Cubs and seemed like a key piece in the future of the Cubs’ bullpen. 

That didn’t end up being the case, however. Heuer missed all of the 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and then had to undergo season-ending surgery midway through the 2023 season to address an elbow fracture. 

He signed a minor league contract with the Rangers in 2024 and re-upped with them in 2024, which led to him making his aforementioned appearance with Texas’ big league club. The Tigers acquired him at the trade deadline and used him in two games before removing him from their roster. 

Heuer leans on a fastball that averages 96 miles per hour alongside a slider that sits around 86 miles per hour, and routinely ranks in the top percentile in extension, which measures how close a pitcher is to the plate when they release a pitch. 

While Heuer will have an uphill climb to make it to the MLB roster, the Guardians have a track record of giving pitchers on minor league deals a legitimate chance to make the MLB roster, so it stands to reason that Heuer will get that same chance in 2026. 

The Guardians have added a ton of depth to their big league bullpen this offseason with their additions of Shawn Armstong, Connor Brogdon, Colin Holderman and Peyton Pallette, and adding Heuer on a minor league lottery ticket is another solid move.