Wild Card Series rosters are filled with reminders of previous Guardians’ missteps (with one exception) 

In 2022, Amed Rosario, Aaron Civale and Gabriel Arias all saw time in the postseason for the Guardians in their postseason journey that ended in the American League Division Series. 

Two years later, Matthew Boyd resurrected his career with a strong performance for the Guardians that included three strong postseason starts. 

This week they’re all going to be fighting to keep their season going via the Wild Card Series. For Boyd, Civale and Arias, that fight is a best-of-three series against the Padres at Petco Park, while Rosario will be playing for a Yankees team looking to take down the rival Red Sox. 

Not the most marquee group of former Guardians, but they could all end up playing a big part for their respective team in best-of-three Wild Card Series.

Matthew Boyd is the only former Guardian playing in the Wild Card Series who could haunt Cleveland

But just because those players could play a big part for their teams in the postseason doesn’t mean the Guardians were wrong to let them go. 

In fact, the Guardians are better off with almost all of them playing for other teams. 

Although Civale pitched 430 innings with the Guardians, the lasting part of his Cleveland legacy was being the piece that helped the Guardians get Kyle Manzardo as a prospect.

He’s bounced around MLB since Cleveland traded him to the Rays, but he’s found a ton of success as a longman out of the Cubs’ ‘pen. 

He’s recorded a 1.81 ERA in 49 2/3 innings in his two seasons with the Cubs, and is one of the few pitchers who has success in the Cubs’ beleaguered pitching staff. 

He’s not the only former Guardians pitcher who could play a part in Chicago’s pitching staff, as Boyd pitched the third-most innings for the Cubs this season and should toe the rubber in at least one of the Cubs’ Wild Card Series games. 

Boyd may not have reached the same highs that he did last season when he was an All-Star, but he finished the year with seven strong innings against the Marlins that helped the Cubs clinch a postseason berth. 

The Guardians’ decision to let Boyd walk in free agency has been one of the more frustrating moves in recent team history, and we could get another example of why later this week. 

Arias is also on the Cubs’ roster, but he should be a non-factor since he played in just seven games with the Cubs after they acquired him at the end of August. 

Moving over to the Junior Circuit, the lone former Guardian played in the Wild Card Series is Rosario. After spending three seasons with the Guardians as a shortstop, he’s found new life as a utility option who plays primarily against left-handed pitching. 

He went 3-for-10 for the Yankees last postseason, and should be a bench option for Aaron Boone against the Red Sox. 

He may have never reached the heights in Cleveland that were expected of him as the main return in the Francisco Lindor trade, but he still has a chance to become even more of a fan favorite in the Bronx.

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