Here's how Guardians fixed their biggest roster problem after early-season concerns

On April 5, Cade Smith picked up his third save of the season by closing out the Guardians’ win over the Cubs. But it didn’t look like how Smith’s saves usually go. 

Instead of sending hitters back to the dugout cursing under their breath, he allowed three baserunners and gave up a run via an Ian Hap single. 

That outing caused Smith’s ERA to balloon to 7.50 and for alarm bells to sound across Northeast Ohio. It looked like those ninth inning struggles were going to be one of the biggest things to watch throughout the Guardians’ season. 

But in the time since, Smith has made the ninth inning boring again. And not a moment too soon. 

Smith’s allowed just one run in 14 2/3 innings since that outing against the Cubs while racking up 10 saves. That’s corresponding with a strong run of play from the Guardians’ bullpen, which has tallied a 3.06 ERA since the start of May. 

The Guardians fixed their bullpen problems by using the right players in the right spots 

The biggest way they’ve been able to make that happen has been better roster management. 

Part of the reason the Guardians’ bullpen’s season-long stats don’t look great is because of Connor Brogdon and Kolby Allard, who combined to allow 19 earned runs across 24 innings of work. 

Now they’re both in Triple-A Columbus. 

Allard was called up during the Guardians’ season-opening road trip to help fill some innings as a longman, but he only lasted four ineffective games before being designated for assignment. 

Brogdon’s tenure on the team lasted a bit longer, but he was cut loose last week after allowing two homers in a relief appearance against the Royals. 

They’re the only two pitchers who have been DFA’d by the Guardians this season, and it was clearly the right move both times. The Guardians need their pitching to be at their best if they want to win, and neither of them were cutting it. 

The Guardians’ front office doubled down on those moves last week by calling up prospect Franco Aleman from Triple-A, and he immediately made an impact by tossing two scoreless innings against the Twins. 

While calling up Aleman was a great sign in itself, it was made even better by the fact that he took Brogdon’s roster spot. 

The front office clearly didn’t like what they were getting out of Brogdon and made the decision to DFA him for a rookie despite Brogdon being on a guaranteed deal. 

That’s the kind of move winning teams make. 

Speaking of winning moves, their decision to sign Colin Holderman to a one-year, $1.5 million deal continues to look better and better as the days go by. 

The Guardians sent Holderman down to Triple-A after two disappointing outings to make room for Allard on the roster, and he’s been absolutely nails since getting recalled at the end of April .

Holderman’s appeared in eight games since being called up by the Guardians at the end of April, and has allowed just one run across 11 2/3 innings. 

He started that period working in the longman role that Allard vacated, but his past three appearances have come as a single-inning reliever. 

It initially looked like the money spent on Holderman was going to be a waste, but it’s quickly turning into one of the best contracts on the team. 

And perhaps the most exciting thing is that there’s room for growth within the bullpen so long as Hunter Gaddis is able to bounce back to his 2025 form and Shawn Armstong comes back healthy from his stint on the injured list. 

The Guardians’ bullpen may not be as dominant as it was during the second half of last season, but it’s quietly become a weapon once again. 

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