Cade Smith already looked like one of the better closers in baseball. A new stat floating around this week suggests he might belong in an even smaller, more exclusive group than anyone realized.
Smith closed out Friday’s win over the Athletics with two strikeouts in the ninth inning, the kind of routine, shutdown outing Guardians fans have grown used to seeing from him. It was another example of the consistency that has defined his career since taking over Cleveland’s closer role, and it fits right into a larger trend that has quietly been building around him.
Recent stats show the real historical context behind just how good Smith has been. Looking at every pitcher with at least 200 career games over the last 110 years, Smith’s name sits in some truly elite company.
“Lowest Career ERAs In The Last 110 years (200+ MLB games pitched): Emmanuel Clase, 1.88. Mariano Rivera, 2.21. Cade Smith, 2.30,” Codify wrote.
Lowest Career ERAs In The Last 110 years
(200+ MLB games pitched):Emmanuel Clase, 1.88
Mariano Rivera, 2.21
Cade Smith, 2.30 😮 https://t.co/zUp7eTFGsu— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 19, 2026
Sitting behind only Emmanuel Clase and Mariano Rivera on that list is not a small thing. Rivera is a Hall of Famer widely regarded as the greatest closer the sport has ever seen. For a pitcher still just three seasons into his career to already rank ahead of every other reliever from the last century plus is impressive.
Smith has already picked up 37 saves in 42 opportunities this season, and he just recorded his one hundredth strikeout for the third straight year, a feat only Dick Radatz had previously managed in his first three big league seasons. Manager Stephen Vogt has repeatedly pointed to Smith’s consistency as what separates him from other relievers around the league, and stats like this one only reinforce that point.
What makes it more remarkable is how quickly it all came together. Smith was not handed the closer role from day one. He was thrown into it midway through last season and simply never looked back, turning himself into one of the most dependable arms in the sport in a short amount of time.
For a Guardians team fighting for a division title with barely a week left in the regular season, having a closer this good in the ninth inning changes how every close game gets managed. Based on where Smith already ranks among the greats, Cleveland may be watching one of the best relievers in franchise history develop in real time.
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