The Cleveland Guardians’ offseason has begun after their AL Championship Series elimination by the Tampa Bay Rays. They are on the verge of big, lasting things, but they need outside acquisitions to put themselves in a position to compete with the elite.
We know that the Guardians won’t be in the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, but they could aim for the mid-tier of free agents, and should prioritize pitchers due to their logjam in the position players department.
These two free agent pitchers could make sense:
JoJo Romero
A current member of the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen in the 2026 postseason, the left-hander has a brilliant 1.69 ERA in 5.1 frames in October. He has issued just one walk and struck out nine batters.
Much like Erik Sabrowski, Romero can be a shutdown lefty reliever, with a solid 3.51 ERA in 249 major league innings in his career to date. He could be an upgrade over the talented but inconsistent Tim Herrin.
Of course, given his strong track record and quality 2026 performances (he finished the regular season with a 3.36 ERA between the Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals), there will be a long list of potential suitors vying for his services.
Pitching under the guidance of Carl Willis and the excellent Guardians’ coaching and player development staff, not to mention playing for a perennial contender, could put Cleveland in pole position should they be interested.
Kris Bubic
For years, Bubic teased Kansas City Royals fans with his big potential. In fact, he had several solid seasons there, posting a 2.71 ERA in 162.2 innings between 2023 and 2025. He struck out 171 hitters over that span.
In 2026, he had a 4.11 ERA in nine starts and 50.1 innings with the Royals, before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and posting a perfect 0.00 ERA in 4.2 frames out of the bullpen.
Bubic’s stuff is excellent, with four pitches that racked up a 25 percent whiff rate or higher this year: his four-seam fastball, his changeup, his slider, and his sweeper. The problem, however, is how often he gets hurt.
He is currently healthy, though, and would make for a fine left-handed option for the Guardians’ rotation with Foster Griffin set to hit the free-agent market. In case he isn’t viewed as a starting pitching alternative, he also has experience out of the bullpen and could be a weapon there.
Bubic shouldn’t cost a fortune given his injury woes, but if the Guardians are willing to live with them, he does have some potential and would come at a good age, at 29 years old.
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