The Cleveland Guardians are sitting at 35-33 and 9 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central as the year hasn’t gotten off to the start many had hoped for following last year’s ALCS appearance.
There is a lot of room for improvement on this roster, but there is still plenty of talent, especially on the pitching staff, as one former Guardian recently opened up about Cleveland’s staff.
Former Guardians closer Cody Allen recently stopped by The Carlos Baerga Show and praised the current crop of pitchers for being “so talented” and added that “the raw material they put out on the field every night is impressive.”
Cody Allen misses playing, but appreciates how ridiculous the talent of modern players is. #GuardsBall
"These guys are so talented, the raw material they put out on the field every night is impressive."
– Cody Allen
Presented by @smartchoicewin_ https://t.co/ka2vhjNoK0 pic.twitter.com/PcOwEd51Lk
— Carlos Baerga Show (@BaergaShow) June 13, 2025
It wasn’t long ago that throwing 95 miles per hour was impressive and most teams only had one or two pitchers in the bullpen who were capable of doing so, but now, seemingly every reliever comes out of the ‘pen throwing at least 98.
It’s remarkable how filthy the pitchers around the league are these days, and that includes the Guardians, who had the best bullpen in baseball last season and still rely on that unit to serve as the backbone of this organization.
Allen was part of a bullpen that made it to Game 7 of the World Series in 2016, and the franchise is still looking to get back to that point.
This is a championship-level bullpen, though it faltered mightily in the postseason last year, as star closer Emmanuel Clase gave up more runs in the playoffs than he did in the regular season.
Once again, the starting rotation is 27th in the league in quality starts, so there is some concern that the ‘pen could be overworked once again, though it’s hard not to lean on them given how talented those relievers are.
NEXT: Bruce Drennan Sends A Big Warning To The Guardians
