Guardians Sign Former Cardinals Pitcher To Minor League Contract

The Cleveland Guardians have always taken pride in finding and developing pitching gems. The next one, however, might not even be from this side of the world. According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the Guardians have added another intriguing prospect to their proficient farm system.

They signed Italian pitcher Ettore Giulianelli to a minor league deal.

“Italian baseball news: RHP Ettore Giulianelli of Rimini has signed a minor league contract with the Guardians, source says,” Morosi posted on X.

Italian baseball news: RHP Ettore Giulianelli of Rimini has signed a minor league contract with the Guardians, source says. @MLBNetwork @MLBItalia https://t.co/PTrhtvdQKL

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 7, 2026

A native of Rimini, Italy, he spent the offseason training at Tread Athletics in North Carolina. He was previously with the St. Louis Cardinals organization, and he had just signed a deal with an independent team from Illinois.

The 22-year-old hurler has turned plenty of heads with his velocity and constant growth. His fastball, which used to sit in the low 90s, has now gone all the way up to a 98 mph average, per multiple reports.

The Guardians have a long and well-documented history of finding and polishing rare and unique pitching talents, so this move is right on point with the organization. This will be another low-risk/high-reward pickup, and given his rapid development, there’s no reason to believe he’s not going to get much better under the proper guidance.

Of course, he still has multiple benchmarks to hit and hurdles to clear. It may be a long time before he gets on the team’s radar for a potential call-up, if ever. That being said, the Guardians are known for their patient approach with their prospects, and at just 22 years old, there’s plenty of time to work with him. We’ve seen how this team has leaned on younger players to stay competitive.

And while the fans would probably rather watch them spend big bucks to pursue the most prominent players out there, this approach has proven to be more than effective for most of this team’s history.