CLEVELAND -- Add another arm to the Guardians’ ever-growing bullpen mix.
The Guardians have agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million deal with reliever Shawn Armstrong, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, who also reported Thursday that the agreement includes a mutual option for 2027. The club has not confirmed the signing.
The deal marks a homecoming for Armstrong, whom Cleveland selected in the 18th round of the 2011 MLB Draft. The right-hander then spent his first three seasons in the Majors with the organization, from 2015-17.
Armstrong is coming off a stellar season with the Rangers, for whom he recorded a 2.31 ERA and a 3.07 FIP in 74 innings over 71 appearances (including two starts). Among pitchers who threw at least 50 innings, the 35-year-old’s 0.81 WHIP ranked second in the Majors, and his .157 opponents’ batting average ranked third.
The Guardians have been on the hunt for bullpen help this offseason, and they have beefed up their depth over the past few weeks. They previously signed Connor Brogdon and Colin Holderman to one-year deals, selected Peyton Pallette from the White Sox in the Rule 5 Draft and acquired Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays.
Armstrong has the most experience of the bunch, with 370 career appearances on his résumé over 11 seasons. He will be a candidate for high-leverage work in Cleveland while also bringing versatility to the table.
This past season, Armstrong appeared in every inning other than the fourth, which included a pair of opener outings. The bulk of his work came in late innings -- the sixth (16 appearances), seventh (20), eighth (29) and ninth (19). Overall, 34 of his appearances came in high-leverage spots, during which he held opponents to a .104/.186/.169 slash line in 86 plate appearances.
You can imagine Armstrong slotting toward the back end of the Guardians' bullpen, alongside relievers such as Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski, to help bridge games to closer Cade Smith.
Armstrong featured a five-pitch mix this past season, led by his four-seam fastball (28.9% usage), cutter (24.1%), sinker (23.5%) and sweeper (23.4%). Opponents hit just .167 against his four-seamer, which averaged 93.5 mph and carried a 34.4% whiff rate.
Among other impressive underlying metrics, Armstrong held opponents to a 34.2% hard-hit rate (91st percentile) and an 88.0 mph average exit velocity (80th) in 2025. The latter helped him record a 2.98 expected ERA (90th percentile).
The Guardians’ 40-man roster is full, so they will have to make a corresponding move once Armstrong’s deal becomes official.