How the Guardians' bullpen looks after latest external acquisitions

Last year the Cleveland Guardians’ bullpen went on quite a roller coaster ride. Paul Sewald was the big veteran addition in the offseason, but he only ended up throwing 15 1/3 innings with Cleveland before being shuttled off the roster at the trade deadline. 

Emmanuel Clase was set for another season of domination, but he struggled so badly early in the season that he was removed from the closer role in April and was eventually placed on paid leave as a part of a sports betting investigation. 

And while both of those setbacks made life harder for the Guardians during the 2025 season, they still finished the year with a 3.44 ERA (the third-best bullpen ERA in baseball) in a season that culminated with a postseason berth. 

But that strong performance wasn’t enough to prevent significant turnover in the bullpen, as the Guardians either cut or non-tendered relievers Kolby Allard, Sam Hentges, Zak Kent and Nic Enright to make room for new faces. 

We got two new facse in that equation this when the Guardians acquired reliever Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays for cash on Wednesday before signing Shawn Armstrong to a contract the next day. They're the fourth and fifth relievers the Guardians have added to their relief core this winter along with Connor Brogdon, Colin Holderman and Peyton Pallette. 

The Guardians are entering 2026 with a deep bullpen

While none of those five will usurp Cade Smith for the closer role, last season was another reminder of how important a deep bullpen can be. 

The Guardians likely didn’t plan on getting 65 innings out of Allard last season after he was signed to a minor league deal in spring training or 63 appearances out of Matt Festa after he was acquired at the end of April, but they were called into action due to a variety of factors and answered the call every time. 

Perhaps the biggest reason why the Guardians’ bullpen was able to navigate the rockiness of the 2025 was due to the presence of Smith, who finished the year with a 2.93 ERA in 73 2/3 innings. 

While those numbers weren’t as good as the 1.91 ERA he posted in 2024, he finished the year in the 98th percentile in expected ERA (2.47) while also finishing in the 97th percentile in barrel rate (4%) and strikeout rate (34.7%). Smith also posted a 2.79 ERA in 29 innings after Clase went on paid leave, so there’s also some empirical evidence that he can handle the closer role. 

While it may be unfair to expect him to pick up where Clase left off, he’s a top-tier option at the back of the bullpen. 

The same can be said for Hunter Gaddis, who stepped into Smith’s eighth inning set up role after Clase left the picture. Gaddis’ stats also took a step back from 2024 (3.11 ERA in 2025 compared to 1.57 ERA in ‘24), but he still finished the year in the 92nd percentile in whiff rate and the 91st percentile in chase rate. 

After those two, Erik Sabrowski is the top lefty option, while Armstrong could work in a fireman role. Although Sabrowski only thrown 42 regular season games over the past two seasons, he appeared in all three of the Guardians’ postseason games in the fall. 

Meanwhile, Armstrong had a 2.31 ERA with the Rangers last year and was among baseball's best at limiting hard contact. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Stephen Vogt use him to put out a fire in the fifth inning one game and then be trusted to hold onto a late lead in the next game.

After them the next guy(s) up will likely be Festa, Holderman, Herrin and Bruihl. It seems like Vogt would use Festa in all 162 games if possible, which means that he’s prone for the occasional blow up, but his durability makes him a valuable asset in the middle of the ‘pen. 

Holderman and Bruihl are both coming off rough seasons but could still be valuable weapons. Even though Bruihl’s fastball averages just 90.2 miles per hour, he releases his pitches at a 30 degree arm angle, which provides a bit of a unique angle for hitters.

Holderman’s pitching mechanics are a bit more traditional, but he had a 3.16 ERA with the Pirates in 2024, which was his last healthy season. 

Herrin also struggled in 2025 (so much so that he was demoted to Triple-A in July), but he held opponents scoreless in seven of his last nine appearances and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the postseason. 

Brogdon and Pallette are the last two guys at the bottom of the depth chart, and they both offer interesting profiles. Brogdon ranked in the 92nd percentile in extension (how close a pitcher is to home plate when they release the ball), while Pallette posted some solid advanced metrics in the minors with the White Sox. 

The loss of Emmanuel Clase changed the Guardians’ long-term outlook in a variety of ways, and the bevy of bullpen additions they made this offseason is a prime example of one of those changes. Even though none of them are at Clase's level, they all have a chance to help the Guardians win in 2026.