The Cleveland Guardians’ bullpen has turned into a top unit in which the internal competition is so fierce that many talented arms are often left out of the roster.
It is the best bullpen in baseball and it might not be that close.
James Karinchak, who was a top setup man for the Guards from 2020 until he started to fall out of favor in 2023, couldn’t crack the unit late in 2024 after a long injury recovery.
His stuff wasn’t the same upon returning but Cleveland wanted to keep him around as depth, hoping his fastball velo would eventually come back.
The pitcher, however, wants nothing to do with the minors and refused to be sent to Triple-A, as is his contractual right.
“Cleveland #Guardians outrighted RHP James Karinchak to Triple-A Columbus after removing him from the 60-Day IL. Karinchak refused his assignment and is now a free agent,” Guardians Prospective posted on X.
Cleveland #Guardians outrighted RHP James Karinchak to Triple-A Columbus after removing him from the 60-Day IL. Karinchak refused his assignment and is now a free agent.
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) November 4, 2024
Karinchak is now free to sign with any team.
He used to flirt with the mid-to-high 90s with his heater, though, so teams would probably like him to regain some of that velocity before investing.
The right-handed posted a very solid 3.10 ERA in 165.2 innings with Cleveland from 2019 to 2023.
He struck out a whopping 253 batters over that span.
Control, however, became a big problem for him (to the point of walking 28 in 39 frames in 2023) and then he hurt his shoulder.
He could never really shake off those shoulder problems.
If he has a good off-season and remains healthy, there is enough talent on his arm to rebound for some other organization.
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