Guardians Re-Sign Kolby Allard To Minor League Deal

The Guardians are bringing left-hander Kolby Allard back on a minor league contract, reports Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. Cleveland had granted the southpaw his release yesterday, but it seems Allard didn’t find an MLB opportunity with another club.

Cleveland’s front office and coaching staff clearly appreciates what Allard brings to the table as a depth arm. He’s capable of working multiple innings and held a low-leverage relief spot for the majority of the 2025 season. Allard worked to a 2.63 ERA across 65 innings a year ago despite sitting 90 mph with his fastball and running a well below-average 15.8% strikeout rate.

Allard fills up the strike zone but has fringy stuff. He has given up 16 hits to allow 10 runs across 8 2/3 MLB frames this year. He has pitched three times with Triple-A Columbus, surrendering seven runs with an uncharacteristic seven walks over 5 1/3 innings. The Guardians have signed him to five minor league contracts over the past two seasons.

Gio Urshela Announces Retirement

Infielder Gio Urshela has announced his retirement as a player in a post on his Instagram page. In the post, he thanks the people who contributed to his career, including his family, friends, fans, baseball organizations, coaches, the people of Colombia and more.

Giovanny UrshelaUrshela, now 34, was signed by Cleveland back in 2008. An international amateur out of Colombia, he secured a signing bonus of $300K. He quickly developed a reputation as a plus defender at third base while also dabbling at the other infield positions. His bat was a bit more questionable. He didn’t strike out much in the minors but also didn’t draw many walks and it wasn’t clear how much thump he could produce with his contact approach.

He cracked the majors in 2015. His initial big league opportunities matched his profile. He could pick the ball at third and didn’t strike out a lot but also didn’t produce offensively. He was eventually designated for assignment in 2018 and flipped to the Blue Jays in a cash deal. The Jays put him on waivers later that year and the 29 other clubs all declined a chance to claim him. At that time, he had 499 major league plate appearances and a .225/.274/.315 line.

The Jays traded Urshela to the Yankees for cash late in 2018. He began the following season as non-roster depth for Miguel Andujar, who had just finished a solid rookie campaign, finishing second in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Shohei Ohtani. Early in the 2019 campaign, Andujar suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder, an injury that would eventually require season-ending surgery. Though that was unfortunate for Andujar, it turned out to be the opportunity for Urshela to break out.

Urshela took over the third base job in the Bronx that year with a big step forward offensively. He hit 21 home runs and slashed .314/.355/.534 for a 132 wRC+. FanGraphs credited him with 3.1 wins above replacement. He may have hit his personal zenith that year with some help from external forces. His .349 batting average on balls in play was well above average. That was also the juiced-ball year, with home run records set all around the league.

Regardless, Urshela still proved to be a viable major league hitter in subsequent seasons. Over the shortened 2020 season and the 2021 campaign, he hit 20 homers in 159 games and slashed .275/.320/.438 for a 108 wRC+. He was credited with 2.4 fWAR for that span.

Going into 2022, Urshela was part of a big trade. He and catcher Gary Sánchez were flipped to the Twins for third baseman Josh Donaldson, infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt. Urshela had a solid campaign in Minnesota, hitting 13 home runs and putting up a .285/.338/.429 line, translating to a 118 wRC+. FanGraphs put another 2.6 WAR on his ledger that year.

Ahead of the 2023 season, Urshela was traded to the Angels for pitching prospect Alejandro Hidalgo. That was unfortunately just before things started to turn sour for Urshela. He hit a respectable .299/.329/.374 for the Halos but went on the injured list in June due to a pelvic fracture. He didn’t require surgery but he missed the second half of that season and was never really able to get back on track after that.

He became a free agent and signed a $1.5MM deal with the Tigers going into 2024. He got into 92 games for Detroit but hit .243/.286/.333 for a wRC+ of 74. He was designated for assignment and released that August. He latched on with Atlanta and finished on a slightly higher note, slashing .265/.287/.424 in 36 games.

That strong finish was enough to get him a $2.15MM deal with the Athletics for 2025. He hit .238/.287/.326 in 59 games for the A’s before getting designated for assignment and released in August. He returned to the Twins on a minor league deal this past offseason. He hit .192/.250/.231 in spring training and was released at the end of camp.

Urshela finishes his career having played in 851 games with 3,028 plate appearances. He only walked in 5.9% of those but also limited his strikeouts to an 18.3% pace. He collected 759 hits, including 147 doubles, nine triples and 73 home runs. He scored 312 times, drove in 352 runs and stole seven bases. His career slash line finishes at .270/.314/.407. That leads to a subpar 97 wRC+ but is dragged down by his slow start and soft finish. From 2019 to 2022, he hit .290/.336/.463 for a 118 wRC+. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference credit him with about eight wins above replacement, mostly from that four-year peak. Baseball Reference pegs his career earnings over $25MM.

We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Urshela on a fine career and wish him the best for his post-playing days.

Photos courtesy of David Butler II, Jesse Johnson, Nick Wosika, Imagn Images

Guardians’ Kolby Allard Granted His Release

The Guardians granted left-hander Kolby Allard his release yesterday, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. Allard had an opt-out clause in his contract, and Cleveland apparently didn’t have a spot for him on the big league roster. He’ll be free to explore opportunities with other teams, though Stebbins adds that the Guardians would prefer to re-sign Allard on a new minor league pact if possible.

Allard, 28, has been hit hard in a small sample of 8 2/3 innings with Cleveland this season. He’s served up 10 runs on 16 hits and three walks in that time, fanning nine of his 45 opponents (20%). He’s also allowed more runs than innings pitched in an even smaller sample of 5 1/3 Triple-A frames.

Though his 2026 season hasn’t gone as planned, Allard was terrific with Cleveland as recently as last season. In 2025, he ate up 65 innings in a swingman role and notched a tidy 2.63 earned run average. Allard’s 15.3% strikeout rate was about seven percentage points shy of league average, but his 5.3% walk rate was excellent (more than three points lower than average).

A former first-round pick, Allard was dogged by repeated back injuries early in his career with Atlanta. He never wound up establishing himself as the steady No. 4 starter many believed him capable of becoming, but he’s consistently found big league work as a journeyman bouncing from team to team in the same type of swing role in which he thrived last season. Allard has never thrown particularly hard, though this year’s 89.4 mph average four-seamer is down about a half mile from last year’s 89.9 mph and well shy of its 92.4 mph peak back in 2019.

Any team in need of some length in the bullpen or perhaps a handful of spot starts in the near future could plausibly consider Allard as an option. He’d have a stronger case for a big league spot with better 2026 performance, but Allard was great last year, solid this spring (4.05 ERA in 13 1/3 innings) and isn’t going to cost a new club much more than the league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster.

If Allard does end up back in Cleveland, they’ll be glad to keep the depth. The Guards have managed to make it to this point in the season only needing five starters: Parker Messick, Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Joey Cantillo and Slade Cecconi. However, Cecconi has struggled to a 5.60 ERA, and the depth options in Triple-A are somewhat lacking.

Logan Allen, Trent Denholm, Pedro Avila and Ryan Webb all have ERAs of 5.45 or higher with the Guardians’ top affiliate in Columbus — the latter pair closer to 9.00. A triceps injury has limited Austin Peterson to four starts, though he recently returned from the injured list. Yorman Gómez has yet to pitch this season due to a shoulder injury. Former top prospect Daniel Espino is working exclusively in short relief after a yearslong injury absence. Twenty-six-year-old Rorik Maltrud (2.50 ERA in 39 1/3 frames) is the only starter in Columbus who’s taken the mound at least five times and kept his ERA under 5.00.

Guardians Outright Connor Brogdon

The Guardians have sent right-hander Connor Brogdon outright to Triple-A Columbus after passing him through waivers, according to Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. He had the right to elect free agency but has accepted the assignment.

It’s not surprising that Brogdon has waived his right to head to the open market. Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of heading to the open market. However, they need at least five years of service to become free agents and keep their salary commitments in tact. Brogdon is making $900K this year and his service is in between three and five years. That makes it understandable that he’s heading to Columbus to keep his paycheck coming.

The Guards took a shot on Brogdon this winter by giving him that $900K deal. He wasn’t coming off a great season, having posted a 5.55 earned run average with the Angels in 2025. The Guards were perhaps looking last that ERA and seeing positive momentum. Brogdon’s fastball velo had ticked up to 95.5 miles per hour, a nice jump from the 92.8 mph he averaged in an injury-marred 2024 campaign. His strikeout rate also leaped from 15.8% to 24.6%.

The gamble didn’t pay off, or at least hasn’t yet. Brogdon tossed 15 1/3 innings out of the Cleveland bullpen before being designated for assignment. His 5.28 ERA was only a marginal improvement over last year. His strikeout rate dropped to 20.9% as his velo dropped slightly to 94.5 mph.

Brogdon is out of options. Since things weren’t going well for him in the big leagues, the Guards bumped him off the 40-man. Since he has accepted his assignment, they can keep him in the system as depth without him using a roster spot. If he gets in a nice groove for the Clippers or the big league club simply needs some fresh arms later in the year, he can be added back to the roster.

Photo courtesy of Scott Marshall, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: Patrick Bailey To Cleveland, The Struggling Astros, And Arizona’s Outfield Changes

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on SpotifyApple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Are the Tigers struggling due to injuries and will be fine as guys get healthy? Or should fans be more worried? (49:30)
  • Which starting pitchers can the Cubs pursue? (53:25)
  • When will the Yankees realize they need to upgrade on David Bednar as the closer? (58:20)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Skubal’s Injury, The Marlins’ Catchers, Eldridge Called Up, And Volpe Sent Down – listen here
  • The Alex Cora Situation, Lucas Giolito Signs, And The Phillies Fire Rob Thomson – listen here
  • Kevin McGonigle, The Padres’ Franchise Valuation, And Edwin Díaz To Miss Time – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of David Dermer, Imagn Images

Guardians Acquire Patrick Bailey

11:35AM: Both teams have announced the trade.  7 News’ Ari Alexander adds the detail that the Giants are calling catcher Logan Porter up from Triple-A to take Bailey’s spot on the active roster, so San Francisco will be continuing with a three-catcher depth chart for the time being.

10:10AM: The Guardians have acquired catcher Patrick Bailey from the Giants, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.  San Francisco will receive left-handed pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and the 29th overall pick of the 2026 draft (the first selection of Competitive Balance Round A, which are the only types of picks that can be dealt).  Cleveland has an open spot on its 40-man roster for Bailey, and The Athletic’s Zack Meisel adds that the Guards will option catcher Bo Naylor to make room for Bailey on the active roster.

Bailey has won the last two Fielding Bible Awards and NL Gold Glove Awards, cementing his case as the sport’s best defensive catcher.  Between Bailey and backup Austin Hedges, the Guardians now have the best defensive catching tandem in recent memory, and have doubled down on their commitment to prioritizing glovework over offense from their backstops.  Obviously the Guards were hoping Naylor would add more pop from behind the plate, but after an impressive debut in his 2023 rookie season, Naylor has hit only .192/.266/.351 over 893 plate appearances since Opening Day 2024.

Those numbers aren’t far below the .224/.282/.329 slash line Bailey has posted over 1342 career PA.  Bailey’s lackluster offense took an even sharper nosedive this year, as he has hit only .146/.213/.183 over his first 89 trips to the plate in 2026.  The situation became dire enough that the Giants were reducing Bailey’s playing time, at first because Rule 5 pick Daniel Susac (currently on the 10-day IL) was on fire at the plate, and then since prospect Jesus Rodriguez was recalled earlier this week from Triple-A.

San Francisco will now go forward with Rodriguez and Susac when he’s healthy, and Eric Haase is also on the 26-man roster.  Because Rodriguez can play multiple positions, the Giants might keep all three players even when Susac is activated from the injured list, if the team wants to keep Haase on hand for some veteran experience.

While this trade isn’t as seismic as the Rafael Devers blockbuster last June, it does represent another aggressive early-season move from Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey.  Even if Bailey was losing playing time, seeing the Giants move on from the catcher entirely counts as something of a surprise.

The desire for change may stem from the Giants’ 15-23 start, as San Francisco is tied with the Angels and Mets for the fewest wins in all of baseball.  For as little as Bailey was contributing, getting less offense than expected from a defensive specialist hasn’t been as much of a lineup issue as the cold starts from Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Harrison Bader (who is also currently on the IL).  That said, the club is clearly looking for runs wherever they can find them, and clearing the path for Susac and Rodriguez is one way of pursuing upside.

Obviously there’s still a lot of baseball to be played before the trade deadline, yet today’s move is perhaps also the first sign that the Giants may already be looking beyond the 2026 season.  Between the Dodgers’ ongoing dominance and the Padres’ strong start, the Giants are looking at a wild card berth at best even if they’re able to dig their way out of this early-season hole.  If the struggles continue, more selling will take place before the deadline, and possibly even well in advance of the deadline given Posey’s willingness to swing a prominent deal at any time on the calendar.

From a pure trade-value standpoint, it’s also not a bad outcome for Posey to move an increasingly expendable catcher for both a starting pitching prospect and a high draft pick.  The 29th overall selection is the first pick of CBR-A, and thus the highest selection available to be traded.  Acquiring this CBR-A pick adds to what is already going to be a particularly important draft for the Giants, as the team got lucky in landing the fourth overall pick in the draft lottery last December.

Wilkinson was a 10th-round pick for the Guardians in the 2023 draft, and isn’t considered a top-30 prospect in either the Baseball America or MLB Pipeline rankings of the Cleveland farm system.  Nonetheless, Wilkinson has posted some solid numbers across his four pro seasons, including a 1.59 ERA, 33.6% strikeout rate, and an 8.4% walk rate across 28 1/3 innings for Double-A Akron this season.  This marked Wilkinson’s first taste of Double-A action, and a promotion to Triple-A doesn’t seem out of the question before 2026 is over.  Nicknamed “Tugboat,” Wilkinson received some higher-profile work when he pitched for Canada’s team in this spring’s World Baseball Classic.

The Guardians have enough other pitchers ahead of Wilkinson on the depth chart that the organization apparently felt comfortable moving the southpaw.  Dealing the CBR-A pick is more of an eye-opener, as the low-payroll Guards have traditionally relied so heavily on building from within.

Moving that pick for Bailey in particular is also intriguing, as adding Bailey doesn’t help Cleveland’s biggest need of more offense.  The Guardians’ lineup has been better than the near rock-bottom numbers posted in 2025, and this improvement has come even with Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan off to slow starts.  On paper, however, one might have expected the Guards to seek out more of a proven bat if they were going to make any kind of a notable change to their everyday lineup.

Bailey isn’t eligible for arbitration until the coming offseason, so the Guardians have control over his services through the 2029 campaign.  With one defensive specialist under longer-term control, it is possible the Guards might end their cycle of one-year, $4MM contracts to retain Hedges’ services.  Since top prospect Cooper Ingle is expected to make his MLB debut before 2026 is over, the Guardians may be making the move from the Naylor/Hedges era to Bailey and Ingle as their regular catching tandem.

Guardians Designate Connor Brogdon For Assignment

The Guardians have designated right-hander Connor Brogdon for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for the recall of righty Franco Aleman, a move that was reported earlier. Tim Stebbins of MLB.com was among those to pass along the news of the completed transactions.

The Guardians signed Brogdon, 31, to a major league deal in the offseason. The $900K salary on that deal is barely above the $780K league minimum but it was still a bit of a surprise that Brogdon got a big league deal at all. Injuries had limited him to just three innings in 2024. He was back on the mound in 2025 but posted a 5.55 earned run average in 47 innings for the Angels. The Halos outrighted him off their roster at season’s end.

Cleveland was presumably seeing some signs of optimism under the hood. Brogdon’s fastball velocity ticked up to 95.5 miles per hour last year, a nice rebound after it had dipped to 92.8 mph while he has battling injuries the year prior. It was also possible to see some positive regression with his ERA, since his 24.6% strikeout rate was decent and his 9% walk rate around par. The runs allowed were partially due to the home run ball, which can sometimes be fluky in small samples. A metric like SIERA, for instance, views things that way and gave Brogdon a 3.86 last year.

The bet hasn’t paid off. Brogdon has lost a tick of velo, sitting at 94.5 mph this year. His 4.5% walk rate is nice but he has only struck out 20.9% of batters faced and the home runs are still an issue. Through 15 1/3 innings, he has a 5.28 ERA.

Brogdon is out of options, so the Guards have bumped him into DFA limbo. He can stay there as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they could take five days to explore trade interest, though they could also put him on the wire sooner than that.

The season began with Brogdon’s service time at four years and 90 days, putting him 82 days shy of the five-year line. He has picked up another 44 days of service so far this year but hasn’t quite made it to five years.

That’s significant because players with three years of service have the right to reject outright assignments and elect free agency. But if they are shy of five years, they have to forfeit their remaining salary commitments in exercising that right. If Brogdon were to clear waivers, he presumably would not want to walk away from the remainder of his $900K salary, so he would likely report to Triple-A Columbus and give the Guardians some non-roster bullpen depth.

Photo courtesy of Scott Marshall, Imagn Images

Guardians To Recall Franco Aleman For MLB Debut

The Guardians are recalling right-hander Franco Aleman from Triple-A Columbus for what will be his major league debut, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. The team has yet to formally announce Aleman’s promotion or a corresponding transaction.

Aleman, 25, was a 2021 tenth-rounder. The former Florida Gator was added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster following the 2024 season in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He’s missed significant time in each of the past two seasons due to a lat strain in 2024 and hernia surgery in 2025.

Now healthy, Aleman has gotten out to a dominant start in Columbus. The big 6’6″, 235-pound righty is unscored upon through a dozen innings of relief. He’s fanned 40.9% of his opponents against a 9.1% walk rate. Aleman’s tiny .143 average on balls in play isn’t sustainable, nor is it reasonable to expect him to continue on without allowing a home run, but his small-sample results are nevertheless excellent.

Aleman is a two-pitch reliever, focusing on a classic fastball/slider pairing. However, he’s changed up his fastball selection in recent years. In 2024, he used both a sinker and four-seamer. In ’25, he went with a pure sinker/slider. This season, he’s throwing only four-seamers and sliders with his best results to date. That heater is sitting 96.2 mph and can climb as high as 99. His slider clocks in at an average of 85.6 mph.

Cleveland has had a middle-of-the-pack bullpen thus far in 2026. Guardians relievers rank 16th in ERA (4.12), seventh in strikeout rate (24.7%) and are tied with the Cubs for 12th in walk rate (9.3%). While those rate stats are generally solid, Guardians relievers have also allowed the third-most homers per nine innings pitched of any team in baseball, at 1.24. That’s not due to a fluky homer-to-flyball rate but rather due to the Guardians’ status as MLB’s most flyball-heavy relief corps. Cleveland relievers have only induced grounders on 34.6% of the batted balls against them — the lowest mark in baseball. (Houston is second-lowest at 36%, followed by Cincinnati at 37%.)

Aleman and his 38.1% grounder rate isn’t going to change that much, but he’ll add some velocity to a Cleveland bullpen whose average 94.2 mph four-seamer ranks 22nd in MLB. This is the second of three option years for Aleman, so he can shuttled between Columbus and Cleveland freely both this year and next while he looks to cement himself as a presence in Stephen Vogt‘s bullpen. He can’t get to a full year of service in 2026, so Aleman will remain controllable for the Guardians for at least six years beyond the current season.

Guardians Option George Valera

The Guardians announced Thursday that outfielder George Valera has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus. They’re off today, so a corresponding move won’t be announced until tomorrow.

A longtime top prospect, the 25-year-old Valera hasn’t been the boost to the lineup for which the team hoped. Injuries have repeatedly set Valera back, to the point where he was at one point designated for assignment and non-tendered. He returned on a minor league deal and rebuilt his stock in 2025 with a .318/.388/.550 slash in the minors. Cleveland called him up for his big league debut late last year, and Valera hit .220/.333/.415 with a pair of homers in 48 plate appearances. He tacked on another homer during postseason play.

Valera opened the season on the injured list due to a calf strain and hasn’t hit since returning. He’s taken 38 plate appearances and floundered with a .216/.237/.297 slash. Valera has chased off the plate at a huge 40.4% clip, nearly doubling his chase rate from last year’s small-sample debut (21.7%). He’s beaten 52% of his batted balls into the ground and already popped up to the infield four times.

The Guardians quite literally did nothing to improve their lineup over the offseason. They’re running a payroll under $70MM and hanging their 2026 hopes on big steps forward from young players like Valera, Chase DeLauter, CJ Kayfus, Travis Bazzana and others. It’s worked out in some respects. DeLauter has been great, and both Brayan Rocchio and Angel Martínez are hitting at career-best levels. Utilityman Daniel Schneemann has improbably been one of the best hitters in the American League, though he’s striking out at a 30% clip and isn’t going to sustain his current .438 average on balls in play or 21% homer-to-flyball ratio.

On the other end of the spectrum, José Ramirez has been good but hasn’t hit at his typically elite levels. Meanwhile, the Guardians have seen Steven Kwan and Kyle Manzardo take substantial steps back with the bat. Kayfus struggled before being optioned earlier in the year, and already light-hitting catcher Bo Naylor is mired in the toughest slump of his career.

The end result is a lineup that’s slashed .228/.314/.371. That comes out to a 93 wRC+ that ranks 23rd in the majors. Cleveland is tied with Boston for 23rd in runs scored. The Guardians are 17th in home runs, 26th in batting average, 22nd in on-base percentage and 25th in slugging percentage.

With Valera sent down, Cleveland’s outfield options include Kwan, DeLauter, Martínez and Schneemann. They’ll make a move to add another position player tomorrow. Candidates already on the 40-man roster include Kayfus and outfielders Petey Halpin and Kahlil Watson. Juan Brito is also down in Columbus, but he was optioned just a couple days ago, so he can only be recalled if he’s replacing an injured player. Non-roster outfielders Nolan Jones and Stuart Fairchild are both hitting well in Columbus. Top catching prospect Cooper Ingle opened the season on a ridiculous tear (.394/.630/.788 in 54 plate appearances) but is currently on the minor league injured list due to a hip injury.

This is Valera’s final option year, so if he spends 20 days in the minors on this assignment, he’ll be out of options heading into the 2027 season. Valera is controllable for at least five more years beyond the current season — possibly six depending on how long he spends down in Columbus. He entered the season needing 144 days of service to reach a full year, and he’s already accrued 36 of those days. If he’s down until June 12 or later, he’ll fall shy of a year of service and be controllable all the way through 2032.

MLBTR Podcast: The Alex Cora Situation, Lucas Giolito Signs, And The Phillies Fire Rob Thomson

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on SpotifyApple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

  • Kevin McGonigle, The Padres’ Franchise Valuation, And Edwin Díaz To Miss Time – listen here
  • Lenyn Sosa Traded, And Injury Concerns For The Astros, Cubs And Orioles – listen here
  • Previewing The 2026-27 Free-Agent Class – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images

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