Guardians Reliever Could Sneak Onto Opening Day Roster

The Cleveland Guardians’ bullpen is one of the most talented units in the American League. The group had the third-best ERA in MLB last year, at 3.44, and the second-best in the junior circuit behind the Boston Red Sox.

It boasts talented hurlers such as Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Shawn Armstrong, Erik Sabrowski, Matt Festa, Tim Herrin, Connor Brogdon, Codi Heuer, and Colin Holderman. Not all of them will make the team, though.

People tend to forget about Peyton Pallette, and his chances of making the roster out of camp are solid because of a series of circumstances. First of all, Gaddis is in a race to be ready for Opening Day, and he might have to open the season on the injured list.

Then, you have Pallette’s strong Cactus League performance, where he has two scoreless innings with five strikeouts. And finally, the right-hander will have to be returned to the Chicago White Sox if he’s removed from the 26-man roster because he is a Rule 5 Draft pick.

Guardians insider Tim Stebbins believes Pallette can sneak in and take a roster spot come March 26.

“Peyton Pallette may have had an inside track to a roster spot entering camp, given his status as a Rule 5 Draft pick. Cleveland will have to offer him back to the White Sox if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster. Whether Gaddis is ready for Opening Day, Pallette may be too intriguing not to make the team,” Stebbins wrote.

Despite the obligations attached to Rule 5 picks like Pallette, one can put together a very strong case for him to make the roster on talent and merit alone.

The guy struck out 86 batters in 64.1 innings last year between Double-A and Triple-A, and had a respectable 4.06 ERA. In 2025, his four-seam fastball averaged 95.1 mph in Triple-A, but he is up to 97 mph in spring training.

“It’s an electric fastball and some very good complementary pitches off of it,” Vogt said of Pallette. “I think we’re all blown away when we saw 97, 98 on the radar gun. That’s some really, really good stuff, and he’s bounced back well.

Pallette has the stuff to become a strikeout artist in MLB, and while his control isn’t the best, he could still be a contributor. He will need to show he can handle major league hitters consistently and minimize mistakes, but he has a power arm, and the Guardians can certainly use that.