Stat Shows How Impressive Cade Smith Has Been Through 2 Years

The Cleveland Guardians lost one of their most important players at the worst possible time.

They couldn’t trade closer Emmanuel Clase at the deadline, nor could they use him in the second half of the season.

Fortunately, they already had a replacement in place.

Cade Smith lived up to the situation and exceeded all expectations.

That’s why it’s not a surprise to see that Smith led MLB relievers with a 2.7 fWAR.

For back-to-back season, Cade Smtih (CLE) led all MLB relievers with 2.7 fWAR

Not too shabby for your first two seasons in the Majors

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) September 28, 2025

This is the second year in a row that he’s done that, and the fact that those are his only two MLB seasons speaks volumes about his impact.

There were rumors about the Guardians being ready to move on from Clase at some point during the season.

Not many teams would even consider trading arguably the best closer in baseball.

But the Guardians believed in Smith, and that belief paid off in a big way after Clase was lost for the year when he was put on leave because of an MLB gambling investigation.

Cleveland didn’t commit to Smith as the full-time closer right away, alternating him with Hunter Gaddis.

Yet it was always evident that he was the right man for the job, and he finished the season with 16 saves and a 2.93 ERA for the AL Central champions.

Now, it remains to be seen whether Smith will be able to perform in the postseason, which wasn’t always the case with Clase, especially last season in the playoffs against the New York Yankees.