Building Blocks: Are the Cleveland Guardians in better shape now when compared to previous playoff runs?

Comparing Cleveland Guardians bullpen setups

2020: Triston McKenzie, Oliver Perez, Phil Maton, Nick Wittgren, James Karinchak, Brad Hand

2022: Eli Morgan, Enyel De Los Santos, James Karinchak, Sam Hentges, Trevor Stephan, Emmanuel Clase

2024 (projected): Ben Lively, Andrew Walters, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith, Emmanuel Clase

Cleveland fans should smile, seeing that their bullpen has improved with each playoff trip. The 2020 unit was solid, but Wittgren was shaky in 2020, Maton was young, McKenzie was a rookie who transitioned to the bullpen for the playoffs, and Brad Hand was on the back nine of his prime. Did I penalize ‘20 Bieber for his poor playoff start? No. Will I penalize Hand for blowing the save in Game 2 of that series? Yes. Likely, if you’re reading this blog, I don’t need to explain the dominance of this year’s pen. However, we should tip our caps to the 2022 bullpen because it’s not as far behind this year’s as you’d think. 

Clase 1.36 ERA 0.78 WHIP

Stephan 2.67 ERA 1.18 WHIP

Hentges 2.32 ERA 0.97 WHIP

Karinchak 2.08 ERA 1.10 WHIP

The verdict: The 2024 bullpen is an A+. Despite season-ending injuries to Stephan and Hentges, who were the setup men in 2022, Smith, Gaddis, and Herrin have emerged as viable, equally dependable late-game options. If this bullpen ever got Hentges and Stephan back in addition to this year’s core four, the team may be able to win a World Series using AJ Hinch’s Tigers model. All jokes aside, this year’s bullpen is remarkable.