What to make of the Guardians’ aggressiveness in adding to their bullpen

Earlier this month, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti opened the Winter Meetings by saying the Guardians’ front office was going to be aggressive in trying to find bullpen additions.

It turns out none of us had any clue truly just how aggressive Anonetti and his team were going to be. After he said those remarks, the Guardians brought in four relievers, one of whom has already been cut for the roster. 

Even though Cleveland finished last season with the third-best bullpen ERA in all of baseball, half of their relievers from the end of last season are no longer with the team, so it was a clear area to upgrade. And that’s not even accounting for the loss of Emmanuel Clase, who is on paid leave and has likely thrown his last pitch with the Guardians.

While the Guardians’ urgency in addressing their bullpen has been a refreshing change of pace compared to the usual offseason malaise we see out of them, there’s still a bit to unpack when it comes to those additions. 

The Guardians’ front office has turned over every rock possible to find bullpen additions

For the uninitiated, here’s a timeline how the Guardians added to their bullpen earlier this month: 

Dec. 3: Signed RHP Connor Brogdon to one-year contract right before the start of the Winter Meetings

Dec. 10: Select RHP Peyton Pallette from Chicago White Sox in Rule 5 Draft

Dec. 11: Sign RHP Colin Holderman to a one-year deal

Dec. 17: Acquire LHP Justin Bruihl in trade with Toronto Blue Jays 

Dec. 21: Sign RHP Shawn Armstrong to one-year deal; designed Bruihl for assignment 

Dizzy yet? 

Of those transactions, the addition of Armstrong is the best move, as he’s coming off a sneaky strong season with the Rangers and has a lot of high-leverage experience going back to his time with the Rays. 

But his signing came at the cost of Bruihl, who was on the roster less than a week after the Guardians traded for him and subsequently cut Jhonkensy Noel.

Armstrong’s signing was reported late last week, but the Guardians waited as long as possible to announce the move given the fact that they had a full 40-man roster. 

While it’s not known if the Guardians were trying to figure out a way to trade Bruihl (or someone else on the roster), he’s now going to be exposed to waivers. If he goes through waivers unclaimed, the Guardians would have the ability to bring him back in Triple-A. 

That said, the Guardians claimed him on waivers after the Blue Jays DFA’d him, so it would be a surprise to see him go unclaimed this time through. 

Even though it’s hard to believe the Guardians wanted to DFA Bruihl, it’s not a surprise that he was the expendable arm in the bullpen considering Brogdon and Holderman were signed to MLB contracts, whereas Bruihl is still pre-arbitration eligible. 

Cutting Pallette wouldn’t make sense either since that means they’d need to offer him back to the White Sox since he was a Rule 5 draft pick.

While Pallette has an intriguing arsenal, the decision to DFA Bruihl is the first tangible example of the lack of roster flexibility that can come with having a Rule 5 pick on your roster. 

The Guardians’ bullpen has been more of a priority this season compared to years prior because of the loss of Clase, but the front office has made some clear upgrades this month, even those upgrades have come in a bit of a non-linear manner.