The Cleveland Guardians are, one day at a time, making roster decisions ahead of their Opening Day date on March 26 against the Seattle Mariners. Like all MLB clubs these days, they use training camp and Cactus League games to gather information and trim their roster before the start of the regular season.
On Saturday, the Guardians cut left-handed pitcher Doug Nikhazy, who had a couple of appearances in the majors for them last year, from major league camp by sending him to Triple-A, and made two additional roster moves.
“Roster Moves this morning: Optioned LHP Doug Nikhazy to AAA Columbus; reassigned to Minor League Camp: C Jacob Cozart, RHP Jake Miller. ML Camp roster at 59 players,” GuardsInsider wrote on X.
Roster Moves this morning
+Optioned LHP Doug Nikhazy to AAA Columbus.
+Reassigned to Minor League Camp: C Jacob Cozart, RHP Jake Miller.
+ML Camp roster at 59 players.— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) March 7, 2026
This move effectively ends Nikhazy’s chances of making the big league team for now, but that doesn’t mean he can’t resurface later in the season.
After 2024, he was a solid back-of-the-rotation prospect, and despite his rocky 2025, he still is. He is running out of time, though.
After posting a 2.98 ERA in 123.2 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2024, Nikhazy regressed in 2025, finishing with a 5.02 ERA in 86 frames in Columbus.
He also pitched two games for the Guardians, allowing six runs in four innings of work. Since he doesn’t have elite stuff or velocity, Nikhazy needs to be on point with his control and command, change speeds, and use a deep bag of tricks to succeed.
These things didn’t happen last year, as he struggled with walks (11.1 percent walk rate) and homers (1.57 per nine innings) in Triple-A.
Yes, that level is notorious for being hitter-friendly, but it’s hard to trust a guy with middling stuff and an ERA over 5.00. He was also struggling in the Cactus League, surrendering six runs in 3.2 innings.
He had more walks, four, than strikeouts (three). Nikhazy’s ceiling isn’t high, but he should be able to contribute in MLB at some level.
It’s unclear if it will happen in Cleveland or in another organization, but manager Stephen Vogt believes in him.
As for the two players reassigned to minor league camp, Cozart is a 23-year-old catcher who put up a 113 wRC+ last year in Double-A. The Guards’ 20th-best prospect per MLB Pipeline, Cozart is not ready, but his future remains promising.
Miller is a 25-year-old righty who succeeded in Double-A last year, but was met with a 4.96 ERA in 16.1 Triple-A frames in his short exposure there. He will likely get another shot at Columbus to open 2026.
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