The Cleveland Guardians have spent years building one of the best pitching development operations in baseball, and other teams have noticed. That kind of success brings outside interest in the coaches behind it, and Cleveland has already lost key staff members this offseason. Now another rival may be eyeing one of the club’s most important behind-the-scenes figures. According to Terry Pluto of cleveland.com, other organizations are interested in assistant pitching coach Brad Goldberg.
“I’ve heard other teams are interested in Brad Goldberg, the Beachwood product who is the top assistant to Willis. But the Guardians place a high value on him and want to keep him. At some point, Willis will retire. He will be 66 on Dec. 28. He plans to be back in 2027. Goldberg is being trained to take over whenever Willis departs,” Pluto wrote.
Pluto reported that Cleveland places a high value on Goldberg, who serves as the top assistant to pitching coach Carl Willis. Willis turns 66 on Dec. 28 and plans to return for 2027, but he will not coach forever. When he steps away, the Guardians want Goldberg ready to take over.
That would be a big role to fill. Willis is in his second stint as Cleveland’s pitching coach, and his staff carried the team to a third straight AL Central title this season. Gavin Williams became an ace, Parker Messick finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting and was a Cy Young finalist, and Cade Smith is up for AL Reliever of the Year. Messick has credited the people around him for his rookie success, and Willis said Messick’s preparation was some of the best he has ever seen.
Goldberg has been part of that success. He became pitching coach at Double-A Akron in 2023, moved up to Cleveland’s bullpen coach in 2024 and was promoted to assistant pitching coach on Dec. 13, 2024. Before joining the Guardians, he spent time as director of pitching development at Ohio State. He was also named pitching coach for Team Israel at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Goldberg was born in Cleveland and grew up in Beachwood, where he starred at Beachwood High School. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Chagrin Valley Conference as a senior in 2008 and was later inducted into the Beachwood Hall of Fame. After starting his college career at Coastal Carolina, he transferred to Ohio State and went 6-1 with a 2.99 ERA as a starter in 2013, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors.
The White Sox drafted him in the 10th round that summer. Goldberg’s fastball eventually reached 99 mph, and he earned an International League All-Star selection with Triple-A Charlotte in 2016. He made his big league debut with Chicago on June 3, 2017, and that spring he pitched for Israel in the World Baseball Classic, earning saves in the team’s first two games of the qualifier. He later spent time in the Diamondbacks organization before moving into coaching.
Keeping Goldberg would give Cleveland continuity at a time when its staff has been changing. Conner Watson left for the Astros earlier this offseason, and the Guardians have made it clear they want to hold on to the people behind their pitching pipeline. A 36-year-old Cleveland native who knows the system inside and out looks like the right person to carry it forward once Willis decides it is time.
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