Guardians Re-Arrange Rotation To Save Their 2 Aces For Biggest Series Of The Season

For the Cleveland Guardians, every win counts. However, wins against the Chicago White Sox at this point are worth their weight in gold because, for obvious reasons, they also mean that their biggest foe in the race for the AL Central loses. It’s simple math.

After beating the Minnesota Twins in their series opener at Target Field on Friday, and following the White Sox’s loss against St. Louis, the Guardians are now just half a game behind in the division race. That means if Cleveland wins on Saturday and Chicago suffers another defeat, the top spot will change.

The Guardians will treat every game like a must-win affair, but they want to make sure to have their best personnel available to face the White Sox from Monday to Wednesday at Progressive Field. That’s why they switched things up in their rotation.

Gavin Williams was supposed to take the ball on Saturday in Minnesota, but the team will save him for Monday’s opener against the White Sox. Daniel Espino will make his first MLB start on Saturday instead, with Tanner Bibee going on Sunday.

“The Guardians wouldn’t confirm their rotation for the Chicago series, but it will likely be Williams, (Foster) Griffin and (Parker) Messick,” Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com said.

Espino will likely function as an opener on Saturday, with Slade Cecconi and Joey Cantillo likely available out of the bullpen to help cover some innings. The main idea of this rearrangement was to have Cleveland’s best starters lined up to face the White Sox in their most important series of the season.

Regardless of how the weekend games go for both the Guardians and the White Sox, if Cleveland sweeps Chicago, it will be in a perfect position to secure the division title when everything is said and done.

If the Guardians pull this off, it will be their third straight AL Central crown, an amazing achievement considering their low payroll.

The organization feels that having Williams (13-7, 3.78, 228 K), Griffin (15-5, 3.65), and Messick (11-9, 2.51) going up against the White Sox gives them the best chance to win the series, and it’s hard to argue against the logic.