Guardians roster give provides last chance to squeeze value out of their oddest 2026 signing

For most of the season, it looked like the Guardians’ $900,000 investment in reliever Connor Brogdon was just going to amount to 15 pitching appearances at the beginning of the season. 

But that changed last night when Progressive Field’s bullpen door swung open in the ninth inning and Brogdon ran out to eat up the final two innings of the Guardians’ loss to the White Sox. 

Although Brogdon entered the year with six seasons of MLB experience under his belt and 8 2/3 innings of postseason experience, his addition to the Guardians’ September bullpen was surprising considering the Guardians had plenty of other relievers on their 40-man roster and we hadn’t heard much from Brogdon since he got designated for assignment in May. 

But it seemed like the Guardians had seen enough from him to call him up over the weekend after Franco Aleman’s dud against the Twins on Saturday. At the time, it seemed like Brogdon was going to be an insurance option who could have a quick stay in the Guardians’ bullpen. 

Then Monday’s game came, which makes it seem like he could be a fringe option in the bullpen for the rest of the season.

Connor Brogdon has one last chance to be an impact reliever for the Guardians

Brogdon’s appearance on Monday came at the end of a game that had already been decided. It looked like Slade Cecconi was going to be able to cover the rest of the game, but he hit his quasi-pitch limit of 40ish pitches, which meant Brogdon was tasked with getting the last two outs of the game. 

After picking up the first out of the inning on a Jo Adell outfield assist that came on an Andrew Benintendi RBI single, he was able to pick up the final out of the inning by striking out Colson Montgomery on a 96 mile per hour fastball. 

That strikeout ability was likely what helped earn his latest big league call-up. 

A knee injury led to him getting reassigned to the Arizona Complex League after he cleared waivers, and he didn’t return to Triple-A until the start of August. He had a 6.35 ERA in 12 outings at Columbus, but also recorded 13 strikeouts. 

Aleman’s blow up against the Twins meant the Guardians needed to make some kind of bullpen shuffle, and their decision to turn to Brogdon speaks to how they view the pitching depth that was already on their 40-man roster. 

Logan Allen has gotten the most MLB action of the 40-man options in Triple-A, but he’d be a bit redundant in the bullpen thanks to the presence of Slade Cecconi. 

The same can be said for Austin Peterson, who threw two scoreless innings in relief in his debut but has mostly been a starter pitcher in Triple-A. 

This would be the perfect time for the Guardians to call on Andrew Walters, but he just underwent arm surgery that’s going to keep him out for all of 2027. 

The Guardians had an open 40-man roster spot, and decided Brogdon was the right use of that decision.

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