Latest round of Guardians’ spring cuts includes departure of two intriguing arms

We’re at the point in spring training where the amount of players in camp is getting a bit smaller. While most teams open camp with an entire army of players rolling through their big league camp, that number slowly shrinks as we get closer and closer to Opening Day. 

The Guardians made their first significant cut to that number earlier today by reassigning five players to their minor league camp and optioning pitchers Austin Peterson and Yorman Gόmez. 

While both players are still on the Guardians’ 40-man roster, the Guardians’ latest move confirms that none of them will be a part of Cleveland’s Opening Day bullpen picture. 

Guardians option Austin Peterson and Yorman Gόmez to Triple-A Columbus 

Although the Triple-A season obviously hasn’t started, optioning Peterson and Gόmez to Columbus at this point in the spring gives them clarity on where they’ll start the year and also tightens the roster picture a little bit. 

It’s easier to remove players from the roster gradually as the season goes on as opposed to doing it all at once at the end of the spring. 

The Guardians added Peterson and Gόmez to their 40-man roster ahead of November’s Rule 5 deadline, and both of them figure to fit into the Guardians’ bullpen picture at some point during 2026. 

Gόmez’s addition was the most surprising protection they made at that deadline given that he’s only made it to Double-A. That said, he posted a 2.96 ERA in 121 2/3 innings last year across High-A and Double-A and led Cleveland’s minor league system with 12 wins and 139 strikeouts. 

Even though every player wants to pitch in the big leagues, the Guardians' decision to start him in Triple-A should help in his development. 

He appeared in two games this spring and allowed four runs in 3 1/3 innings. 

Peterson starting his season at Triple-A isn’t a huge surprise either given that he’s set to miss the next six to eight weeks due to a right triceps strain he suffered a couple weeks ago against the Dodgers. 

Prior to getting hurt, Peterson stood out as a potential big league option for the Guardians given that he’s already 26 and threw 145 innings last season.

He may not carry the same kind of prospect pedigree as Parker Messick or Khal Stephen, but it’s easy to see how he could have filled the kind of role that Ben Lively occupied over the past couple seasons. 

Instead he’s going to start the season on the 15-day IL in the minors and likely won’t be back to full strength until May. 

The Guardians’ bullpen picture is pretty much settled after a busy offseason, but it still wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gόmez and Peterson make their big league debuts at some point during 2026.