The Cleveland Guardians have had a quiet offseason thus far and haven’t committed more than $1.5 million to any free agent, but that doesn’t mean the 2026 team won’t look a lot different than last year’s squad. There are plenty of moving parts internally and a lot of opportunities for prospects and overlooked veterans to step up and assume larger roles on the club.
One area where there are a lot of moving parts is the bullpen, as the organization is still dealing with the loss of star closer Emmanuel Clase, who might have flushed his entire career down the drain due to gambling issues. There is a lot that needs to be sorted out, but one insider believes two relievers could wind up being the odd men out.
Joe Noga of the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast recently contributed to an article for Cleveland.com and discussed Cleveland’s bullpen hierarchy. He identified Tim Herrin and Payton Pallette as guys with unclear roles who might not have the years some are expecting of them.
“I mean Tim Herrin looks like he’s the odd man out,” Noga realized when reviewing potential bullpen configurations. “And we haven’t even addressed the issue of [Peyton] Pallette who is a Rule 5 guy and has to make the roster, otherwise you’re going to have to offer him back to the White Sox.”
Herrin had a breakout 2024 campaign, posting a scintillating 1.92 ERA over 74 appearances for what was the best bullpen in baseball. He had a major regression in 2025 and saw his ERA balloon nearly three full runs to 4.85, while his WHIP went from 0.97 to 1.57 in 54 appearances.
He completely lost his control, and if he can’t rediscover what he had in 2024, his leash is going to be much shorter in 2026. He had an opportunity to step into a permanent setup man role with Cade Smith taking over as closer last season, but he was far too inconsistent for the team to go into 2026 penciling him into that spot.
Peyton Pallatte was swiped from the Chicago White Sox in the Rule 5 draft recently and is an intriguing 24-year-old arm who could factor into the bullpen at some point. He had a 4.06 ERA across 52 minor league games last season, though he also put up an impressive 86 strikeouts in 64.1 innings.
He may be an odd man out early on, as there is no need to rush him, but that strikeout rate is intriguing. Keep an eye out for him as the season unfolds, because he could develop into a legitimate weapon at some point.
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