CLEVELAND -- While the Guardians otherwise had a quiet offseason, they beefed up their bullpen depth with a flurry of additions this winter, hoping to enhance a mix that was one of their greatest strengths in 2025.
Suffice to say, this has not been the start to the season Cleveland envisioned for its relief corps.
The Guardians’ bullpen’s up-and-down start continued Friday in a 6-4 loss to the Orioles at Progressive Field. Baltimore rallied for six runs in the top of the eighth inning, moments after Daniel Schneemann broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the seventh by belting a two-out grand slam.
“Four free passes,” manager Stephen Vogt said of the climactic eighth inning. “It's tough to beat a good team when you give them free passes.”
Shawn Armstrong entered in the top of the eighth and did not record an out. He issued two walks and hit a batter. Erik Sabrowski replaced Armstrong and entered in a nearly impossible situation (bases loaded and nobody out) and permitted a sacrifice fly, a walk and a two-run double.
Connor Brogdon took over for Sabrowski and yielded a go-ahead three-run homer to Jeremiah Jackson.
“It was a one-off. I don't see Shawn Armstrong coming in doing that again,” Vogt said. “I thought Erik did a nice job trying to wiggle his way out, and then we just left the fastball over the middle [to Jackson] there and got burned. But a really unfortunate way for this game to end.”
To a degree, Friday was a one-off; the Guardians' bullpen entered the day having allowed the eighth-fewest walks (26) in the Majors. But the bullpen’s early struggles are not limited to one game. The Guardians’ bullpen entered Friday with a 5.00 ERA, which was tied with the Twins for 23rd in MLB. Cleveland’s bullpen had allowed 11 home runs, which was tied for fifth most with the Cubs, White Sox and Blue Jays.
For comparison, Cleveland’s bullpen finished third in MLB with a 3.44 ERA this past season, despite losing the services of Emmanuel Clase on July 28.
Armstrong was the Guardians’ top offseason addition, coming off his stellar season with the Rangers. He was brought in to bolster the high-leverage relief mix and help mitigate the expected loss of Clase (who’s on non-disciplinary leave) while setup man Cade Smith slid into the closer’s role.
Armstrong entered Friday with a 2.08 ERA in nine appearances, but has worked through some trouble in previous outings. While he surrendered just two runs over his first 8 2/3 innings, he scattered eight hits and five walks. Friday, he issued a five-pitch walk to Taylor Ward, hit Pete Alonso with a sinker in a 1-1 count and walked Dylan Beavers on five pitches.
“I didn’t throw strikes,” Armstrong said. “Not really much else to say.”
Armstrong said he’s been working to get his delivery back to where it was during Spring Training. He noted he’s rotating early on the mound and that he’s not locating his sweeper, which was his second-most-used offering (30.3 percent usage) through his first nine outings.
Armstrong threw three sweepers on Friday. Each landed for a ball.
“We’ve got a really good group down there,” Armstrong said of the bullpen. “I put Sabrowski in a tough spot tonight. Anytime you come in with bases loaded, no outs in the eighth inning versus a pretty good lineup, it's tough to get out of that.
“We’ve bailed each other out a few times this year. It just didn't go our way tonight.”
Smith has had his own up-and-down start this season. He entered Friday with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP over 10 appearances, having converted four of his six save opportunities. Vogt noted pregame Friday the issues are command-related, stemming from trouble in Smith’s mechanics.
“I think when Cade gets his command back, we're going to get back to seeing the Cade that we've seen in the past,” Vogt said.
Relievers have the most thankless job in MLB. When they’re performing well, they don’t consistently receive the level of praise they deserve. When they have a tough outing, it’s often magnified given they pitch in the high-stakes part of games.
But two things can be true, including that the Guardians’ bullpen must be better than what we’ve seen in the early going this season. Through the early hiccups, the group remains banded together.
“Every day we're together as a group,” said Hunter Gaddis, who struck out three in a scoreless seventh inning Friday. “Baseball: Sometimes, it's good. Sometimes, it sucks. Just show up the next day and go do your job.”