The Guardians announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Codi Heuer and optioned him to Triple-A. The Guardians had space available on their 40-man roster, so a corresponding move was not necessary to complete the transaction. In addition, the club announced that they’ve re-signed right-hander Pedro Avila to a minor league deal.
Heuer, 29, was a sixth-round pick by the White Sox back in 2018. He made it to the majors with Chicago during the shortened 2020 campaign an impressed with a 1.52 ERA in 21 appearances, but struggled early in the 2021 season. He was ultimately shipped across town to the Cubs as part of the Craig Kimbrel/Nick Madrigal trade at the 2021 trade deadline, and seemed to regain some of his earlier success upon arriving in Chicago with a 3.14 ERA in 25 appearances down the stretch. Heuer was in strong position to be a key piece of the bullpen on the north side of Chicago as they entered their rebuild.
That wasn’t meant to be, however, as Spring Training 2022 set off a series of injury-marred campaigns for the right-hander. Heuer underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022 and followed that up by suffering a broken elbow midway through the 2023 season, while he was still rehabbing from surgery. He made just 15 appearances total from 2022-24 before finally returning to health as a member of the Rangers in 2025. Between the Rangers and Tigers organizations, Heuer posted a 3.14 ERA in 48 2/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level and struck out 30.5% of his opponents. The results at the major league level didn’t return right away, however, and the righty surrendered three runs, all earned across 4 2/3 innings in the majors last year.
He returned to the open market this offseason and caught on with the Guardians on a minor league deal. He struggled this spring, with a 9.00 ERA in eight innings of work, but did strike out 11 against five walks. It was an intriguing enough performance to Cleveland that they decided to add him to their 40-man roster before the season begins, though Heuer will still begin the year at Triple-A as an up-and-down depth option rather than as part of the Opening Day roster. If Heuer can produce at a level similar to what he offered at Triple-A last year, it seems like a safe bet to expect to see him in the majors with the Guardians sometime this year.
In other Guardians bullpen news, right-hander Pedro Avila is returning to the club on a minor league pact after previously being released by the club to pursue other opportunities when he did not make the roster. Avila evidently decided that his best opportunity to make it back to the majors is with Cleveland on a minor league pact, and so he’ll head to Triple-A alongside Heuer and wait for a big league opportunity as a non-roster veteran. Avila has five years of major league experience under his belt, mostly with the Padres, but joined the Guardians during the 2024 season and posted a solid 3.25 ERA across 50 appearances for the club. He spent 2025 with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yakult Swallows before returning to the Guardians on a split contract back in December. He pitched solidly in Spring Training, with a 3.24 ERA across 8 1/3 innings of work, but his paltry 11.8% strikeout rate likely stopped the Guardians from including him in their Opening Day roster mix.
Options are always good.
I thought Codi was going to be a closer eventually on the Cubs, great he’s made it back