The Cleveland Guardians may be in the middle of an important offseason at the major league level, but the organization is also looking further down the road. While the front office weighs decisions about free agents, trade rumors and how to strengthen the lineup for 2027, it is still adding young talent to the bottom of the farm system. The latest addition is a teenage left-handed pitcher from Venezuela who will begin his professional career next year. Cleveland officially signed seventeen year old Nerio Reyes this week, adding another arm to an international pipeline that has become a big part of the organization’s identity.
“Cleveland Guardians have officially signed 17-year-old LHP prospect Nerio Reyes out Venezuela. Reyes trained out of CJB Academy in Maracaibo. He will make his pro-debut during the 2027 season in the Dominican Summer League,” Guardians Prospective posted.
Cleveland #Guardians have officially signed 17-year-old LHP prospect Nerio Reyes out Venezuela.
Reyes trained out of CJB Academy in Maracaibo.
He will make his pro-debut during the 2027 season in the Dominican Summer League. #StandGuard pic.twitter.com/3Xu1a1ODHS
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) October 26, 2026
Reyes is expected to make his professional debut during the 2027 season in the Dominican Summer League. That is the usual first stop for international signees in the Cleveland system, where players spend their first season adjusting to professional baseball before moving on to the Arizona Complex League and the full season affiliates.
Reyes is the latest Venezuelan prospect to join the organization. When the 2026 international signing period opened in January, the Guardians signed 22 players, and twelve of them came from Venezuela. That class was headlined by Dominican shortstop Svert Reinoso, who ranked among MLB.com’s top 50 international prospects, and it also included five right-handed pitchers from Venezuela. Reyes adds a left-handed option to that group.
Cleveland has had plenty of success finding talent in Latin America. Brayan Rocchio, who grew up in Caracas, signed with the Guardians as a teenager and developed into one of the most valuable shortstops in baseball this season, finishing with fifteen home runs and some of the best defensive numbers at his position. José Ramírez also began his career as a little known international signee before becoming the face of the franchise. Ángel Genao and Welbyn Francisca are two more recent examples of young international signees working their way up the ladder.
Reyes will also join one of the best pitching development systems in the sport. The Guardians have built their recent success on homegrown arms, from Gavin Williams leading the American League with 248 strikeouts to Parker Messick making the All-Star team as a rookie. Pitching coach Carl Willis is returning for another season, and the organization’s ability to turn raw talent into big league pitchers is a major reason it keeps contending without a large payroll.
There is a long road ahead for any seventeen year old, and it will take several years before Reyes could be in the big league conversation. But adding young pitching is exactly how Cleveland has built its staff, and Reyes now gets his chance to start that climb next summer.
NEXT: Former Guardians Coach Has Joined Astros
