Sam Hentges was supposed to be one of the top lefties in the Cleveland Guardians bullpen this past season.
He missed the first month with left middle finger inflammation, returned in May, and had to be placed on the injured list again with a shoulder problem that took away the rest of the season for him.
The issue required surgery and now Hentges will be out for most, if not all of 2025, too.
In the middle of all that, the Guardians gave fellow lefty Tim Herrin a main role as the top lefty out of the bullpen and he thrived.
He can’t be the only southpaw in the relief corps, though, so the team called up Erik Sabrowksi in the second half.
The stakes were high: Cleveland needed another lefty they could trust.
Thankfully, Sabrowski didn’t disappoint.
The 27-year-old responded with 12.2 innings of an immaculate 0.00 ERA.
He walked just four batters and struck out a whopping 19 in his debut season.
Not bad, huh?
He conceded just six hits in those 12.2 frames, giving his team solutions rather than problems.
Then the postseason came and Sabrowski found more of a challenge there.
Still, he was rock-solid once again and posted a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 innings there.
His only blemish was a solo home run he conceded to Giancarlo Stanton in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series.
A single earned run in 18 frames between regular season and playoffs is nothing to sneeze at, and you can be sure Sabrowski will have a huge role in 2025 with Hentges outs.
NEXT: Analyst Names 2 Biggest Needs For Guardians This Offseason
