The Cleveland Guardians will be in the playoffs for a third straight year, that much is certain after clinching a berth on Friday. But there is still a lot of work to be done over the final three games of the season.
The Guardians hold a one-game lead over the Chicago White Sox as they compete to win the AL Central. Doing so would wrap up the No. 2 seed in the American League bracket, which would allow Cleveland to avoid the Wild Card Round and move directly into the ALDS.
That could make the season finale on Sunday very, very important. If so, the Guardians would have a difficult pitching decision to make.
They could start Parker Messick in an attempt to win the division, but that would almost certainly eliminate him from making a start in the Wild Card Round. But Cleveland would not have to worry about that if it wins the Central.
Analyst Ken Carman is urging the Guardians to make the aggressive pitching move and use Messick on Sunday if they have to win the game to secure the division.
“You might as well roll the dice, throw Messick out there. If it doesn’t go our way, I know it puts us in arrears for a Wild Card round, but what the hell anyway? We made the postseason. I think I have to be a little casual and throw caution to the wind here if I’m making such a decision. Am I supposed to just be afraid and then still be in the Wild Card round? I might as well just go for the gusto. If the situation presents itself, I might as well go for it and put Parker Messick in on Sunday,” Carman said.
"You might as well roll the dice, throw Messick out there…if it doesn't go our way, what the hell anyway. We made the postseason."
"Well, hold on, It's not a, 'what the hell anyway'…if they end up losing the wild card round, people are gonna be apoplectic."
🚨 @KenCarman… pic.twitter.com/uhVopGCIoV
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) September 25, 2026
Of course, the Guardians can avoid all of this if they clinch the division in the next two days. They will be facing the Kansas City Royals on the road, while the White Sox host the Colorado Rockies. Kansas City has the fifth-worst record in the majors, and Colorado has the worst.
So that means it is likely that the Guardians and White Sox will enter the final day of the season still separated by one game in the standings. If they tie for first place, Chicago wins the division based on its head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over Cleveland.
This becomes even more important because, unlike last year, when the Guardians won the division but wound up in a Wild Card series, which they lost to the Detroit Tigers, this year’s victor would already be in the second round. It also would not have to face the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox, the top two wild cards, in the ALDS.
So Carman may have a point that using Messick is the right move, based on the way the left-hander has pitched all season.
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