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Guardians Re-Sign Dom Nuñez To Minor League Deal

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The Guardians announced Wednesday that they’ve re-signed catcher Dom Nuñez to a minor league contract. The ALIGND Sports client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Nuñez, 31 later this month, has spent the past two seasons with the Guardians, mostly with their Triple-A affiliate. He briefly appeared in majors in 2025, going 2-for-7 with a pair of singles in two games, but has taken 561 plate appearances and caught nearly 900 innings with their Columbus club dating back to 2024. He became a free agent after the season when Cleveland passed him through outright waivers.

Originally a sixth-round pick by the Rockies back in 2013, Nuñez has appeared in parts of four big league seasons but owns just a .182/.280/.371 slash (58 wRC+) in 354 trips to the plate. He hasn’t hit much in five Triple-A seasons either (.206/.333/.383, 27.6% strikeout rate) but has shown a knack for drawing walks and has some pop in his bat when he does make contact.

Nuñez, however, has a sound defensive reputation. He’s posted solid framing and blocking marks in the minors and majors alike, and he’s nabbed a strong 29% of would-be thieves on the bases in his minor league career. Cleveland clearly places immense value on catcher defense — hence the team’s repeated re-signings of Austin Hedges — and Nuñez will give them a quality defender to plug into the depth chart in the upper minors.

On the big league side of things, Hedges will reprise his role as backup to Bo Naylor (another plus defender with a light bat), but that pair increasingly looks like a placeholder for top prospect Cooper Ingle. The 23-year-old Ingle hit .260/.389/.419 with more walks than strikeouts in 510 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A last year. Ingle played only 28 games in Triple-A last season, so the Guards seem likely to send the 2023 fourth-rounder back to Columbus for a bit more seasoning, but a debut in 2026 seems likely as long as he stays healthy.

Cardinals Acquire Justin Bruihl, Designate Zak Kent For Assignment

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The Cardinals have acquired left-hander Justin Bruihl from the Guardians in exchange for cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs. Bruihl had been designated for assignment by Cleveland last month. Right-hander Zak Kent has been designated for assignment by the Cards today in a corresponding 40-man roster move.

It’s the second cash deal of the winter for Bruihl, who will turn 29 in June. The lefty began the offseason with the Blue Jays but was bumped off the roster when Toronto signed right-hander Tyler Rogers last month. The Guardians sent some cash north of the order to grab Bruihl but then designated him for assignment three days later when they signed Shawn Armstrong. DFA limbo normally lasts a maximum of one week but there are different rules around the holidays, so Bruihl was hanging out there for almost three weeks.

He now finally has some resolution and it could be a good spot for him to carve out some big league playing time. Bruihl posted good numbers in 2025 but exhausted his final option season, which pushed him to the fringes of Toronto’s roster. The Jays have been busy upgrading their pitching staff for another run at competing in 2026 and bumped Bruihl off. Cleveland had one of the best bullpens in the league last year and was also going to have a tough time keeping the southpaw around for long.

But the Cardinals are rebuilding and should therefore have a bit more breathability in their relief group. JoJo Romero is currently the top lefty in their projected bullpen but he is one year away from free agency, making him likely to be traded in the coming weeks. If Romero is dealt, that would leave Bruihl and Nick Raquet as the two lefty relievers on the St. Louis 40-man roster. Raquet was called up late in the 2025 season and has just two big league innings under his belt.

Bruihl has thrown 89 2/3 innings over multiple seasons between the Dodgers, Rockies and Blue Jays. Toronto only let him throw 13 2/3 big league innings in 2025 but he fared decently, despite posting a 5.27 earned run average. His 10.8% walk rate was a bit high in that small sample but his 27.7% strikeout rate and 46.2% ground ball rate were both a few ticks better than average. He also logged 42 Triple-A innings last year with a 3.43 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 58.4% ground ball rate.

The Cards could perhaps sign some veterans before Opening Day but it’s a decent landing spot for Bruihl to get some more time in the majors. If he succeeds with the Cardinals in 2026, they could keep the relationship going. He currently has one year and 112 days of service time, meaning he’s five years away from free agency. He would also be affordable for the rebuilding club, as he is still in his pre-arbitration years.

Kent, 28 in February, has never pitched for the Cardinals. He was just claimed off waivers from the Guardians a month ago. He made his major league debut with the Guards last year, posting a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. His 21.1% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate and 37.3% ground ball rate were all a bit worse than league average.

He does have some interesting minor league numbers. He tossed 38 Triple-A innings last year with a 2.84 ERA. He got grounders on 54% of balls in play at that level and struck out 31.4% of batters faced, though he also gave out walks at a high clip of 13.2%.

Like Bruihl, Kent is out of options, though Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported last month that he is eligible for a fourth option year. Perhaps that will help him latch on somewhere else. The Cards will now have seven days of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for Kent. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they will have a maximum of five days to field trade interest.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images

Orioles Claim Jhonkensy Noel, Designate George Soriano For Assignment

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The Orioles have claimed outfielder Jhonkensy Noel from the Guardians, according to announcements from both clubs. Noel was designated for assignment last month. To open a spot for Noel, the O’s designated right-hander George Soriano for assignment.

Noel, 24, changes organizations for the first time. The Guards signed him as an international amateur back in 2017 and he has been part of that system until today. Over the past two years, he has shown some big power ability but also a poor approach. In 351 big league plate appearances, he has 19 home runs but his 4.8% walk rate and 32.8% strikeout rate are both awful figures. That’s led to a lopsided .193/.242/.401 slash line thus far.

He exhausted his final option season in 2025, which pushed him off Cleveland’s roster. He was designated for assignment December 17th when Cleveland acquired Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays. DFA limbo is normally capped at one week but there are clearly different rules around the holidays, as “Big Christmas” just spent close to three weeks in that liminal space.

The O’s have grabbed him today, though Noel won’t have a great path to playing time. Baltimore has a fairly crowded group for their outfield corners, as well as the first base and designated hitter spots. Pete Alonso should be the regular at first, with Coby Mayo and Ryan Mountcastle also in the mix there. Those guys could spill over into the DH slot, though the O’s might also want at-bats for their catching tandem of Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo. The outfield group includes Colton Cowser, Taylor Ward, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Beavers, Leody Taveras, Heston Kjerstad and others.

Alonso, Mayo, Mountcastle, Ward and O’Neill are all right-handed power bats. The same is true of Noel, though he has a lesser track record of major league success than everyone in that group. The O’s tend to be very aggressive at claiming players off waivers and then putting them back on the wire later, hoping to keep them as non-roster depth. It’s possible that is the plan here, as Noel currently faces a steep path to a big league role.

His numbers in the minors are more encouraging than his major league work. Over the past two years, he has stepped to the plate 536 times at the Triple-A level with 30 home runs. His 7.5% walk rate and 23.7% strikeout rate were still not amazing but much better than his big league work. His .285/.349/.538 line in that sample translates to a 130 wRC+.

Being out of options will make it challenging for him to carve out a lengthy amount of big league playing time. But if he gets a chance and runs with it, he can be affordably controlled for years to come. His service time clock is at one year and 29 days, meaning he is still five years from free agency and two years from qualifying for arbitration.

Soriano, 27 in March, has never pitched for Baltimore. He spent his entire career with the Marlins until the Orioles grabbed him off waivers in early November. Over the past three years, he tossed 118 innings for Miami, allowing 5.95 earned runs per nine. He struck out 22% of batters faced and gave out walks at a 10.3% clip.

Like Noel, Soriano exhausted his final option season in 2025 and got pushed to the waiver wire. As mentioned, the O’s like to make claims and then try to pass guys through waivers later to keep them as non-roster depth. Soriano flashed some intriguing potential in Triple-A last year, tossing 42 2/3 innings with a 2.32 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 55.7% ground ball rate.

His service time clock is at 1.095, so he also has years of potential cheap control. That could entice another club to acquire him but the O’s would surely be happy if they can get him through waivers and hang onto him in a non-roster capacity.

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images

Guardians To Sign Pedro Avila

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The Guardians are in agreement with right-hander Pedro Avila on a one-year, split contract, according to Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. The deal is a split contract, though the exact salary figures he’ll make in the majors and minors are not yet known.

Avila, 29 next month, was designated for assignment by the Guardians less than a year ago. He caught on with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball not long after that, and went on to make 15 appearances for the Swallows in Central League play. Avila posted the results of a back-end starter in those outings, with a 4.04 ERA in 82 1/3 innings of work. While he struck out just 17.8% of his opponents, he generated a solid 43.9% ground ball rate and held opponents to an 8.7% walk rate. None of those numbers jump off the page on their own, but an impressive ability to limit home runs and hard contact allowed Avila to post a 3.09 FIP with a 3.38 xFIP during his time overseas.

Now that he’s returning stateside, Avila will get the opportunity to establish himself at the big league level. The righty signed with the Nationals out of Venezuela as an amateur back in 2015, but came up primarily through the Padres’ system and made his big league debut in San Diego back in 2019. He spent most of his career with the Padres, but didn’t get a significant look at the big league level until 2023, when he pitched to a solid 3.22 ERA with a 3.67 FIP in 50 1/3 innings of work as a swing man for San Diego. A rough start to the 2024 campaign saw the Padres cut Avila loose, however, and he was acquired by the Guardians in the middle of April 2024 as part of a minor trade.

Upon arriving in Cleveland, Avila served as a solid long relief option. The right-hander soaked up 74 2/3 innings of work across just 50 appearances with a 23.0% strikeout rate against a 9.4% walk rate. All told, his work in Cleveland was good for a 3.25 ERA and 3.76 FIP, and both those figures landed a solid amount above league average. That seemed likely to make Avila an easy choice to keep in the fold for 2025, but the Guardians made the surprising call to cut him loose last winter. Perhaps that was in part due to the fact that Avila was out of options, and as a result would have to be exposed to waivers in order to option him to the minor leagues.

This split contract offers a potential avenue towards using Avila as an up-and-down player this year despite his lack of options. By guaranteeing the right-hander a salary above the minor league rate and a larger sum of money for time in the majors, the Guardians make Avila a somewhat less attractive possible waiver claim for rival clubs. That should make Avila more likely to clear waivers if passed through, while also making Avila less likely to elect free agency if he successfully clears waivers. That’s because the right-hander would have to leave his guaranteed money with the Guardians on the table in order to depart via minor league free agency, something the righty is unlikely to be inclined towards doing. In other words, the split nature of the contract affords Avila a 40-man roster spot and a more significant salary than he otherwise would have made in both the major and minor leagues, while for the Guardians it creates additional roster flexibility that should be valuable to a club with a deep bullpen that lacks many candidates to be optioned.

Players In DFA Limbo

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When a team designates a player for assignment, he is removed from that club’s 40-man roster. The team then has a period of time with some ability to impact what is next for that player. This is colloquially referred to as “DFA limbo”.

The team can trade the player to another club, unless the trade deadline has passed and the new offseason has not yet begun. The team can also place the player on outright or release waivers. This limbo period can last as long as seven days. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the team has a maximum of five days to work out a trade.

Or at least that’s the case for most of the year. It’s different around the holidays, with several instances in recent years of players being in DFA limbo for longer than two weeks. For instance, catcher Sam Huff was designated for assignment by the Rangers on December 23rd of 2024. He stayed in DFA limbo until he was claimed off waivers by the Giants on January 8th of 2025, 16 days later.

There has never been an official announcement made about what the rules are but it’s clear there’s some sort of freeze on the DFA clock around the holidays in late December and early January.

In this morning’s edition of The Opener, MLBTR mentioned two players who had been designated for assignment on December 17th, expecting those situations to be resolved today. There have been no updates as of the publication of this post. It’s possible the situations have been resolved but just haven’t been reported publicly because of media/communications people taking time off for the holidays. It’s also possible that those players have had their DFA clocks frozen and will remain in limbo into January.

Below is a list of players who have been designated for assignment in the past week without resolution, listed chronologically.

December 17th

December 19th

December 20th

December 22nd

December 23rd

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images

Guardians, Codi Heuer Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Guardians are in agreement with reliever Codi Heuer on a minor league contract, according to the MLB.com transaction log. The righty will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Heuer resurfaced in the majors this year for the first time since 2021. The righty was on a minor league deal with Texas that got selected onto the MLB roster in June. He pitched once before being optioned back to Triple-A. That was his only appearance with the Rangers, but they managed to find a taker for him at the trade deadline. They flipped him to the Tigers for cash. Heuer made two appearances with Detroit before being released in September.

The 29-year-old pitched 4 2/3 innings of three-run ball overall. He struck out five while walking two batters. The former sixth-round pick pitched quite well in Triple-A. Heuer combined for a 3.14 earned run average while striking out more than 30% of batters faced across 48 2/3 frames. He kept the ball on the ground at a 48.3% clip with a league average 8.4% walk rate.

Heuer looked like a potential high-leverage bullpen piece early in his career with the White Sox. He posted a 1.52 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate while sitting around 98 MPH during his 2020 rookie season. His stuff backed up the following year, especially after he was dealt to the Cubs at the ’21 deadline. That was a precursor to a series of significant elbow injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022, then broke his elbow while rehabbing in June ’23. He made all of 15 minor league appearances between 2022-24.

A healthy ’25 season itself counts as a major achievement given that history. Heuer’s stuff unsurprisingly wasn’t as electric as it’d been before the injuries. His fastball was in the 94-95 MPH range and he averaged around 84 MPH on his slider, four ticks below where it had once sat. Heuer nevertheless showed he’s capable of succeeding against Triple-A competition, so he’s a sensible addition for a Cleveland team attacking the bullpen with depth signings.

Guardians Seeking Right-Handed Hitting Outfielder

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So far this offseason, the Guardians have focused on the bullpen by signing free agents Shawn Armstrong, Connor Brogdon, and Colin Holderman. On the offensive side, the only move of significance thus far has been re-signing catcher Austin Hedges. Going forward, the club may look to add a right-handed hitting outfielder, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. who adds that Cleveland was interested in a reunion with Lane Thomas before he signed with the Royals.

In 2025, the Guardians outfield was led by left-fielder Steven Kwan, who batted .272/.330/.374 with a 99 wRC+ with exceptional defense, including 22 Defensive Runs Saved. That was good for 3.2 WAR according to FanGraphs, but unfortunately for Cleveland, Kwan was the only solid performer among the team’s outfielders, with the rest posting replacement-level numbers on offense. Nolan Jones and Angel Martinez made 384 and 371 plate appearances, respectively, but both only posted a 73 wRC+ and got on base less than 30% of the time. Meanwhile, Kwan and Jones are both left-handed hitters, while Martinez is a switch-hitter who does better from the right side. He posted a 123 wRC+ in 169 PA when facing southpaws this year, compared to just a 48 wRC+ in 315 PA as a lefty facing right-handed pitchers.

At present, nearly every outfielder on the club’s 40-man roster bats from the left side. Apart from the switch-hitting Martinez, the only righty in the group is Johnathan Rodriguez, who batted .197/.260/.366 with a 74 wRC+ in a limited sample of 77 PA this year. He was ranked by MLB.com as the organization’s No. 18 prospect entering 2024 and has upside as a power hitter. He has one option year remaining, so the club may keep him around to see if he can carve out a larger role (or shuffle him to the minors if he can’t).

Still, the club received almost no production from right-handed hitting outfielders in 2025. Out of Martinez, Rodriguez, Thomas, and Jhonkensy Noel, only Martinez’s 123 wRC+ from the right side was above-average. Thomas posted a 48 wRC+ in 142 PA this year and missed significant time with three trips to the injured list. He now plays for the Royals. Noel was even worse with a 28 wRC+ in 153 PA. He struck out 34.0% of the time and walked at a mere 2.6% rate while spending most of the second half in the minors. Cleveland designated him for assignment last week.

As noted by Rosenthal, the club may want to give time to their younger outfielders. Chase DeLauter is the organization’s top outfield prospect and the league’s No. 58 prospect overall, according to MLB.com. He made his debut during the Wild Card Series against the Tigers and will play a larger role in 2026. DeLauter is a left-handed hitter, though, so while he may boost the team’s overall production, he wouldn’t help with the team’s pitfalls from the right side. Three outfield prospects on the Guardian’s Top 30 list – Jaison Chourio, Alfonsin Rosario, and Aaron Walton – are righty or switch-hitters, but they won’t be ready for a few years. The Guardians may simply roll the dice again with their current crop of outfielders, but barring a turnaround from Rodriguez (or more time as a righty hitter for Martinez), that doesn’t leave much room for optimism.

Unsurprisingly, the club may be limited in its options due to payroll considerations. RosterResource estimates their 2026 payroll at $79MM, compared to $102MM in 2025. After winning the AL Central but falling in the first round of the playoffs, the club surely wants to make improvements, though it won’t be a player in the top tier of the market. Harrison Bader is the top righty-hitting option, though he is projected for a two-year, $26MM deal that could be out of Cleveland’s price range. Other free agent options include Miguel Andujar, who had a 125 wRC+ in 341 PA in 2025, as well as Austin Hays and Rob Refsnyder.

Guardians Designate Justin Bruihl For Assignment

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The Guardians have designated left-hander Justin Bruihl for assignment, the team announced. Bruihl’s removal from the 40-man roster opened up a spot for right-hander Shawn Armstrong, who was signed earlier this week.

Cleveland acquired Bruihl for cash considerations on Wednesday after Toronto designated him for assignment. The Blue Jays were also making room for a reliever addition, designating Bruihl as the corresponding move after signing Tyler Rogers.

Bruihl joined the Blue Jays as a minor league free agent in March. He put together 42 solid innings at Triple-A, earning a promotion to the big-league club. The 28-year-old lefty made 15 appearances with Toronto, recording a 5.27 ERA over 13 2/3 innings. Bruihl punched out 27.7% of the hitters he faced, though it came with a 10.8% walk rate. The brief stint was enough to earn Bruihl a postseason roster spot. He made one appearance in the ALDS, getting knocked around for a couple of runs on three hits while securing just one out. Bruihl was not on the postseason roster following the series against the Yankees.

Bruihl has pitched in parts of five MLB seasons for four teams. He’s put together a 4.72 ERA across 94 appearances. The lefty debuted with the Dodgers in 2021. He maintained a semi-regular role in the bullpen over the next three seasons. Bruihl was dealt to Colorado in August 2023. He had brief stints with the Rockies and Pirates before landing in Toronto.

The Blue Jays made a notable arsenal change, having Bruihl emphasize his sinker instead of his cutter. He’d typically prioritized a cut fastball, though he did lean on his sweeper as his primary pitch in his time with Pittsburgh. Bruihl had never used the sinker more than 31.7% of the time in the big leagues heading into 2025. He pushed it to 51.1% this past season, while basically scrapping the cutter (7.3% usage). Sinker/sweeper isn’t a typical swing-and-miss combo, so it’s interesting that Bruihl posted the best strikeout numbers of his career. Toronto may have unlocked something in terms of sequencing or location, in addition to the arsenal adjustment, that led to better strikeout results.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images

Guardians Sign Shawn Armstrong

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December 20: Cleveland has officially announced the addition of Armstrong. The right-hander will earn $4MM in 2026, reports Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. The deal also includes an $8MM mutual option for 2027, with a $1.5MM buyout. Left-hander Justin Bruihl was designated for assignment to clear space on the 40-man for Armstrong.

December 18: The Guardians and right-hander Shawn Armstrong have agreed to a deal, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The ISE Baseball client will be guaranteed $5.5MM on a one-year pact with a mutual option. The Guards have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make this deal official.

Armstrong returns to his original organization. He was drafted by Cleveland back in 2011 and pitched for them in the majors from 2015 to 2017. In the almost decade since then, he has spent time with the Mariners, Orioles, Rays, Marlins, Cardinals, Cubs and Rangers.

Despite that nomadic journey, his performance has been fairly steady in some respects. His earned run average has wobbled from year to year, but that’s not unusual for relief pitchers, who pitch a small number of innings annually and can have ERA swings from a few bad games. From 2019 to 2025, Armstrong tossed at least 36 innings in each full season with at least 52 frames in five out of six. His strikeout rate finished between 22% and 27% in each of those. His walk rate has finished below 9.2% in six straight seasons.

Put it all together and Armstrong has thrown 363 1/3 innings since the start of 2019 with a 3.96 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. Despite that fairly solid trajectory, he settled for a modest $1.25MM deal with the Rangers for the 2025 season.

Texas was surely pleased with that investment. Armstrong averaged about 94 miles per hour on both his four-seamer and sinker while also mixing in a cutter, slider and curveball. He tossed 74 innings on the year with a 2.31 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. His .196 batting average on balls in play and 76.3% strand rate were unsustainably fortunate but his 3.07 FIP and 3.36 SIERA suggest he would have fared well even with neutral luck. He saved nine games and registered 12 holds for the Rangers.

Armstrong has parlayed that into a new deal worth more than four times his last one, the biggest payday of the 35-year-old’s career. The Guardians had a strong bullpen in 2025, as their collective 3.44 ERA was third in the majors behind only the Padres and Red Sox. They are down one key member, as Emmanuel Clase is under investigation for a gambling scandal and may never pitch in the majors again.

The Guards don’t usually have tons of money to throw around but have been busy augmenting their bullpen with minor moves. They have signed Colin Holderman and Connor Brogdon to big league deals. They acquired Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays and selected Peyton Pallette from the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft. Those new arms will add to a group which includes incumbents Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and others.

Photo courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images

Guardians Sign Stuart Fairchild To Minor League Deal

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The Guardians announced this afternoon that they’ve signed outfielder Stuart Fairchild to a minor league deal. The deal includes a non-roster invite to MLB Spring Training.

Fairchild, 30 in March, was a second-round pick by the Reds back in 2017. He was traded to Arizona as part of the Archie Bradley deal back at the 2020 trade deadline and made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2021, but made his way back to Cincinnati (after brief pit stops in Seattle and San Francisco) by the end of the 2022. He’d spend the next few years in the Reds’ outfield mix and ultimately appeared in 223 games across parts of three seasons.

The outfielder hit fairly well during his time in Cincinnati, with a .232/.316/.403 slash line that was good for a 94 wRC+ overall. He split time between all three outfield spots with the Reds and managed to go a respectable 23-for-29 on the base paths during his time in the organization. While his overall production was slightly below league average, his ability to handle center field and swipe bases was valuable enough to keep him on the roster in a part-time role. Fairchild’s main draw was his ability to hit left-handed pitching as his .256/.354/.424 (114 wRC+) slash line against southpaws made him a solid complement to the team’s lefty outfield bats like Jake Fraley and Will Benson.

Headed into the 2025 season, however, the Reds lacked a clear path to a roster spot for Fairchild following the club’s acquisition of Austin Hays as well as the decision to move Spencer Steer into the outfield. With those righty bats in the club’s outfield plans, Fairchild became expendable and was designated for assignment. With a need for additional outfield depth while Ronald Acuna Jr. was on the injured list, the Braves traded for him not long afterwards. Between Acuna’s injury rehab and the early-season suspension of Jurickson Profar, there was plenty of playing time to be had in the Atlanta outfield mix. Fairchild took on some of that load, ultimately appearing in 28 games for the club where he hit a paltry .216/.273/.333 with a 27.3% strikeout rate across 55 plate appearances.

A dislocated pinkie finger cost Fairchild around a month of the 2025 season, and between that injury and poor performance when healthy he found himself DFA’d by Atlanta back in July. He was scooped up by the Rays in a minor trade but did not make an appearance for the MLB club before being designated for assignment once again at the outset of the offseason. He cleared waivers successfully and elected free agency, leading to the Guardians being able to add him on this non-roster pact.

For Cleveland, Fairchild’s addition means they’ve found a decent right-handed depth option for an outfield that lost Lane Thomas to the Royals in free agency this year. The Guardians have a heavily left-handed outfield mix as things stand, with Steven Kwan in left field, Chase DeLauter in center, and George Valera in right. Johnathan Rodriguez and Angel Martinez should serve as decent right-handed complements, but Fairchild offers some additional depth behind that group and protection against the possibility that the Guardians, whose 87 wRC+ in the outfield ranked 26th in the majors last year, don’t make a more significant addition on the grass.

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