Stephen Vogt Says Guardians Reliever Is Looking Like His Old Self

The pitching staff has been one of the main reasons that the Cleveland Guardians have been competitive early in the season. Both the starting pitching and relievers have done a nice job of keeping this team in games, especially with this lackluster offense.

One of the main pitchers this team needs to lean on is closer Cade Smith. The right-hander got off to a rough start to the season, but has turned it around recently. Recently, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt gave his thoughts on Smith.

“I mean, Cade’s been one of the best relievers in the game for the last two-plus years. Just getting back to being himself, it’s been fun. I mean, his stuff’s there. The command is there. We feel really good when we bring Cade into the game,” said Vogt.

It’s true, Smith has been one of the best relievers in the game for the last few years. He began his career as the setup guy in 2024 when he posted a 1.91 ERA across 74 games. Smith was asked to take on a larger role in the bullpen last season.

Smith was needed to take over the closer role in Cleveland mid-season when Emmanuel Clase was suspended. Smith did a nice job, posting a 2.93 ERA with 16 saves across 73.3 innings of work. Now, with Clase out of the picture, Smith has taken over as the full-time closer in Cleveland.

The beginning of the 2026 season was a struggle for Smith, but he has settled down lately. Over the last five appearances, Smith has allowed one earned run, while walking no one and striking out 11 batters. It appears that Vogt is right, Smith is looking like his old self again.

The Guardians are going to need a lockdown closer if they want to make a deep run into the playoffs. Smith is certainly capable of being one of the best closers in the league. He has recorded over 100 strikeouts in each of the last two seasons and is truly one of the most difficult relievers to hit in the league.

So far this season, Smith is posting a 3.05 ERA with a league-leading 18 games finished and has a league-high 13 saves to his name. Everyone struggles from time to time, but the Guardians are lucky to have Smith. It’s not often that teams get a shut-down reliever they can trust almost 100 percent of the time.