Starting pitching used to be the Cleveland Guardians’ strongest department. That might still be the case, despite the bullpen probably going through its best stretch of the year and the offense starting to surge. However, it’s fair to say that three-fifths of the rotation is struggling at the moment.
After Foster Griffin allowed eight runs in just 2.1 innings on Wednesday’s finale in Baltimore, three of the five starting pitchers in Cleveland are coming off rough starts. The other two are Joey Cantillo, who surrendered four runs in 2.1 frames (with five walks and two hit-by-pitches) in his last turn, and Tanner Bibee, who now has a 4.22 ERA and 15 losses in 2026.
Let’s start with Griffin, the one who should generate the least concern. Heading into Wednesday’s start, he was actually very solid, with a 3.26 ERA, but after the dud, the number went up to 3.65. He surrendered his eight runs in just one ugly inning in which he made a costly error and allowed some weak singles and doubles.
It’s never nice to see your starter allow eight runs in a single game, but Griffin should be fine moving forward. Bibee and Cantillo, however, are more concerning.
Bibee has already surrendered 27 home runs this season, tied for third-most in MLB. He knows how to pitch, and his secondary offerings are nice, but his mediocre fastball limits his ceiling and makes him prone to giving up too many long balls.
Cantillo’s main issue is control. He is tied for the majors’ lead with 77 walks, and he often gets into trouble with all the traffic on the basepaths. He needs to keep that in check if he doesn’t want to be replaced in the Guardians’ rotation.
Ideally, a top contender wouldn’t have Bibee and Cantillo starting games in, say, a League Championship Series or World Series. The Guardians probably won’t have much of a choice, though, unless they want to experiment with an opener ahead of Cantillo or use names such as Slade Cecconi, Logan Allen, or Ben Lively.
Before discussing a potential postseason rotation, however, Cleveland needs to actually get there. For now, they will have to do it with three potential liabilities in the staff, or two, depending on your view of things.
NEXT: Guardians Drop Series At Camden Yards After Foster Griffin's Dud
