GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- As pitching coach Carl Willis caught up with Guardians starters this winter, he had a few tough conversations. Cleveland’s rotation was its greatest strength down the stretch in 2025, but the club entered ‘26 with a bit of a (good) problem on its hands.
“Not that [the starters] made it tough,” Willis said. “But tough on my end to tell some of these guys, ‘Hey, you just had a heck of a year. You threw X amount of innings, you did this. You did that. Guess what? You’ve got to make the team next year.’”
The Guardians utilized a six-man rotation that propelled them to the postseason in 2025, but someone will be the odd man out come Opening Day. Cleveland will revert to five starters, from a group featuring Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, Joey Cantillo, Slade Cecconi, Parker Messick and Gavin Williams.
“It’s going to be a really hard decision, whatever we end up doing,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “There's going to be a very heavy competition, and they're all excited for it. You saw the look on their faces, that they're ready for it.
“They've had great offseasons, but we view it as a really good problem to have, that we have six really good ones.”
Cleveland’s switch to a six-man rotation ignited its end-of-season surge toward the AL Central title last year. Allen, Bibee, Cantillo, Cecconi, Messick and Williams recorded a combined 2.60 ERA (second in MLB) over 159 innings (first) in September, while the Guardians went 20-7.
Going back to five starters this season is not a surprise, because the Guardians switched to six when the calendar was conducive to it. They didn’t subtract from their bullpen depth, as active rosters expanded to 28 on Sept. 1. But in April, teams often need to lean upon their bullpen while starters finish getting stretched out.
The Guardians also had competition in their rotation one year ago, though there are fewer questions this time around. Last year, Cecconi was new to the organization, and Williams and Allen were coming off a disappointing ‘24 campaign. Would Ben Lively replicate his ‘24? What would Triston McKenzie provide?
“Last year, we had a lot more unknowns coming into camp,” Willis said. “It's a bit of a comfort now to know these six guys have been there. They've done it. Nothing's going to be a first time for them -- with the exception of maybe Opening Day. It's a place we want to be in. We feel really, really strongly about them.”
Williams and Bibee are safely penciled in as the Nos. 1 and 2 starters, in some order. Williams emerged as an anchor last year (3.06 ERA in 31 starts), and Bibee led the Guardians in innings pitched (182 1/3). They were tied for the team lead in starts (31).
That leaves three spots for Allen, Cantillo, Cecconi and Messick. Allen has one Minor League option remaining, Cantillo has none, Cecconi has one and Messick has three.
Allen had his best season in 2025, logging career highs in starts (29) and innings (156 2/3). He posted a 4.25 ERA after he won the fifth starter’s job in Spring Training. Cantillo jumped between the bullpen and rotation over the course of the season. In September, he had a 1.55 ERA in 29 innings over five starts.
Cecconi had a 4.30 ERA in 123 innings over 23 starts in his first full season as a big league starter. Messick had a 2.72 ERA in 39 2/3 innings over seven starts following his Aug. 20 MLB debut.
Stuff like this often has a way of working itself out. The Guardians have a good problem now, but what if one of the starters gets hurt, or if someone’s progression lags? They have young arms they’re excited about – but none with extended big league experience – in Will Dion, Yorman Gómez, Doug Nikhazy, Austin Peterson (No. 30 prospect) and Khal Stephen (No. 6).
This spring, the Guardians will hope for good health and good competition from a group that emerged as its backbone in 2025.
“It seems like it's honestly not uncharted territory for us in here,” Allen said. “It's just another year of competition, and obviously it brings the best out in everybody. That's kind of what you want. … You want guys to come in here and compete.
“You don't really get a lot out of your team when you come in and everyone knows what their role is going to be coming into camp. So it's good that we're all fighting for something, and it brings the best out of us.”