Postponed game in Minnesota gives Cleveland Guardians' bullpen much-needed unscheduled off day

Everyone knows the feeling of when it seems like the stars align at just the right time. It seems like Sunday's postponed game has done exactly that for the Cleveland Guardians.

Cleveland's bullpen was used for most of Saturday's 3-1 win over the Minnesota Twins, as Carlos Carrasco required 78 pitches to get through 3 innings. This meant that anyone and everyone down in their bullpen would be called into action following Friday's off day. The Guardians ended up using six additional pitchers in the contest following Carrasco's early exit, with Cade Smith being the only relief arm to last more than 1 inning. Nick Sandlin (1.0), Hunter Gaddis (0.2), Scott Barlow (1.0), Tyler Beede (1.0), and Emmanuel Clase (1.0) would also make an appearance in the game, with Clase's being his 9th inning closing duties.

Let's get one thing straight here before we continue. This is not about the prospect of having relievers pitch in back-to-back games because that is expected of some of their better arms in the bullpen. This is about understanding that Triston McKenzie also had an abbreviated start last time out, and a similar parade of relievers could be necessary to get through the game yet again. This could prove to be a problem for the Guardians with their upcoming schedule.

Cleveland's next off day is on Thursday, as they are about to begin a three-game home series with the Chicago White Sox on Monday. Having to use a high volume of relievers in back-to-back games without having a day off before their next scheduled game is far from ideal. There is a very real possibility that the Guardians' relief corps would have been exhausted going into a very important series against a division rival, even one as non-competitive as the White Sox are in their current state. Having a mostly, if not fully, rested group going into this three-game set should allow them to continue their impressive performance out of the bullpen to start the year.