The Cleveland Guardians shocked the world by making the playoffs last season. They didn’t look like they would get that far, given their offensive struggles and the key pieces they lost during the year.
The team has always relied on its strong bullpen. Its pitching staff is among the best in the game, and even those who haven’t done that well somewhere else end up thriving with Cleveland.
However, the Guardians can’t rest on their laurels. They have to add more reliable arms if they want to continue to compete at a high level.
With that in mind, insider Zack Meisel revealed the Guardians’ plan to address their bullpen issues.
“They know they need help. Nic Enright was someone they leaned on last year. You have Cade Smith. That’s a good place to start. They need depth. No, they’re not going to sign Edwin Diaz or Devin Williams, even someone like [Ryan] Helsley. In trying to piece together the plan for the offseason, what makes sense to me would be the best hitter they acquire is probably going to come through trade. That would make the most sense to me. Then, use your free agent dollars to sign that platoon outfielder and to add a reliever too. Bullpens are completely volatile year after year, so the more depth you can have back there, the better shape you’ll be in,” Meisel said.
Given the Guardians spending tendencies, acquiring bullpen depth is much more likely than landing a big fish this winter, says @ZackMeisel. pic.twitter.com/YxqwtbGhFE
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) November 19, 2025
The Guardians could run it back with the same bullpen. Then again, as Meisel said, there’s plenty of volatility in the equation, not to mention the fact that they turned to the bullpen often last season, and that’s quite taxing.
They seemed prepared to move on from Emmanuel Clase even before his involvement in a sports gambling scandal. Smith looked more than ready for a bigger role, and he should continue to be the closer for at least another season. Even so, he will need some help.
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