The Cleveland Guardians are not only shaping their major league roster this spring; they are also making roster decisions across the organization all year long.
On Thursday, three young players learned they were no longer with the Guards.
“The Cleveland Guardians have released the following minor league players: RHP Joswal Betancourt, RHP Luilli Cabrera, and LHP Jodainy Henriquez,” Guardians Prospective wrote on X.
Cleveland #Guardians have released the following minor league players.
RHP Joswal Betancourt
RHP Luilli Cabrera
LHP Jodainy Henriquez— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) March 5, 2026
Betancourt is a 20-year-old pitcher who didn’t make it to the States: he maxed out in the Dominican Summer League. He had an 8.56 ERA in 13.2 innings there in 2023, striking out 14 and walking three.
The next season, in 2024, he had a 5.57 ERA in 21 frames, but his strikeout stuff eroded, and he started to walk more people.
Cabrera did pitch in 2025, also in the Dominican Summer League, but put up a disappointing 6.52 ERA in 9.2 frames. Like Betancourt, he is a 20-year-old right-hander with some control issues.
Henriquez is also 20, but is a left-hander.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t throw strikes consistently in the Dominican Summer League, walking 20 percent of the hitters he faced in 2024 and 27.3 percent in 2025.
That’s unsustainable for any level, let alone the DSL. It’s unclear what the next step for these kids would be, but they will try to latch on with another organization.
The Guardians have high standards when it’s time to develop pitchers.
Year in and year out, they do a fantastic job producing useful arms throughout the system without having to spend high draft picks on them.
They have a top-five farm system in baseball, and that wouldn’t be the case if it were just hitters.
They turned Cade Smith, a 16th-round pick, into arguably the best reliever in baseball, for example.
Joey Cantillo, Nic Enright, and Tim Herrin are all late-round picks, too, and have become trusted contributors with the help and guidance of the team.
In the case of Betancourt, Cabrera, and Henriquez, things didn’t work out the way they wanted. That doesn’t mean they can’t resurface with another organization, or in another league.
They are still very young and have their entire career in front of them.
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