Jose Ramirez Placed on IL With Hamate Fracture
TODAY, 9:53 am: The move is now official, as reflected in the MLB.com transactions log.
TODAY, 9:34 am: Meisel adds that Gabriel Arias will be activated from the 60-day injured list when Ramirez’s placement is officially announced. Meanwhile, George Valera will be designated for assignment to clear 40-man space for Arias.
June 13th: The Guardians are expected to place superstar third baseman Jose Ramirez on the injured list with a left hamate bone fracture, according to multiple reports, including from Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Ramirez was removed in the fifth inning of Saturday’s game against the Tigers after popping out in his third at-bat.
It’s brutal news for a Cleveland club that just moved back into first place with a win over Detroit, along with a loss by the White Sox. Ramirez is having a slightly underwhelming season by his lofty standards, with a .754 OPS heading into Saturday, but he’s a consistent presence in the middle of the Guardians’ lineup. The veteran has played in all 72 games this season. Ramirez has also been a menace on the basepaths, with an AL-leading 24 steals.
Ramirez wasn’t the only key piece to depart on Saturday. Outfielders Chase DeLauter and Angel Martinez also left early. DeLauter crashed into the wall in the top of the first inning. He initially stayed in the game, singling off Tarik Skubal in the bottom of the frame, but was removed for a pinch runner. He’s dealing with a bruised rib cage (h/t Tim Stebbins of MLB.com). Martinez fouled a ball off his foot in his first at-bat. He was removed defensively to begin the second inning.
Already down two outfielders, the departure of Ramirez put the Guardians in a tricky spot. Daniel Schneemann, who replaced DeLauter, had to move to third base. Kyle Manzardo replaced Ramirez in the lineup and went to first base. That pushed Rhys Hoskins to left field. It was his first appearance in the outfield since 2018. Cleveland then sacrificed the DH to bring David Fry into the field for the ninth inning. Closer Cade Smith was forced into the batting lineup. Smith slammed the door for the save, so manager Stephen Vogt didn’t need to navigate that lineup spot.
Ramirez is likely facing an extended absence. Recovery from a fractured hamate bone can vary, but it’ll probably cost the seven-time All-Star at least a month. There were three high-profile hamate bone fractures this spring. Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll both made it back in time for the regular season. Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday‘s comeback didn’t go as smoothly. Holliday dealt with multiple setbacks during his rehab assignment and didn’t return to the big-league club until mid-May. Ramirez himself missed almost exactly a month with the injury back in 2019.
Schneemann is a good candidate to fill in at third base with Ramirez out. He’s typically handled the hot corner when Ramirez has served as the DH. The infielders on the 40-man roster include CJ Kayfus, Juan Brito, and Angel Genao. Brito was up with the team earlier this season and has experience at third base, though he hasn’t played there as a big leaguer. He manned second base before Travis Bazzana was promoted.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
Guardians Recall Daniel Espino For MLB Debut
2:01pm: The Guardians have officially announced the move. To make room for Espino, they optioned righty reliever Codi Heuer to Triple-A.
7:34am: The Guardians are expected to recall right-hander Daniel Espino for his MLB debut, reports Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Espino is already on the 40-man roster, so only a 26-man move will be needed.
It’s been a long journey to the big leagues for Espino. The 25-year-old has missed almost all of the past three seasons due to injuries. After not pitching at all in 2023 and 2024, Espino made it back on the mound for one Triple-A appearance last year.
Espino was among the top prospects in Cleveland’s organization after getting selected in the first round of the 2019 draft. MLB Pipeline ranked him at No. 5 in the system heading into the 2020 campaign. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs had Espino at seventh that year. The righty, along with Triston McKenzie and James Karinchak, was among the most promising arms in the organization at the time.
With the 2020 minor league season scrapped, Espino didn’t get a full year of pro ball until 2021. He was excellent in 20 starts split between Single-A and High-A. Espino recorded a massive 40.5% strikeout rate with a sub-4.00 ERA across 91 2/3 frames. He made the jump to Double-A and continued to punch out minor leaguers at a ridiculous clip. Espino posted a 51.5% strikeout rate in four starts with Akron.
The injury issues began for Espino in 2022. His campaign was cut short by knee and shoulder concerns. Despite tossing just 18 1/3 innings, Espino entered the 2023 season as the consensus top prospect in the Guardians’ system. He was heralded as one of the best young arms yet to debut in the majors. As he ramped up for the 2023 season, Espino felt renewed shoulder discomfort. The injury ultimately required surgery. Additional procedures on his right arm would cost Espino all of 2024 and most of 2025.
Espino has moved to a bullpen role this season. He’s made 22 appearances at Triple-A, all but one of which have come as a reliever. Espino has posted 18 2/3 innings of a 5.30 ERA with Columbus. He’s maintained strong strikeout numbers, whiffing Triple-A opponents at a 33.3% clip.
The Guardians opened the year with Rule 5 pick Peyton Pallette in a long-relief role. He’s since been returned to the White Sox. Espino hasn’t had an appearance longer than an inning with the Clippers, so he’s unlikely to fill that role. Cleveland’s high-leverage group is rock solid with Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, and Shawn Armstrong handling the later innings. Espino has the strikeout skills to join the mix, but he’ll likely begin in lower-leverage spots.
Photo courtesy of Samantha Madar of the Columbus Dispatch via Imagn Images
Guardians Receiving Trade Interest In Young Catchers
The August 3rd trade deadline is over a month and a half away, and the Guardians sit just half a game back of the upstart White Sox in the AL Central. Although impactful trades are very unlikely at this stage, teams are nonetheless starting their due diligence on opposing players to prepare for deadline season. Some are interested in Cleveland’s young catchers, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports the team has fielded calls on Bo Naylor, Cooper Ingle, and Kody Huff.
All three players are currently at Triple-A. Naylor is the only one with big league experience, having appeared in 346 games for Cleveland since debuting in 2022. He’s batted .199/.279/.372 with an 82 wRC+ in that time. Ingle is the team’s No. 3 prospect and a Top-100 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com. He’s doing exceedingly well at Triple-A this year, with a 161 wRC+ in 179 plate appearances. Huff has the least pedigree of the three, but he’s also hitting well. Ingle and Huff are not on Cleveland’s 40-man roster.
Rosenthal doesn’t specify the extent of the talks, though they’re more than likely just early check-ins from opposing clubs. The Guardians are in a precarious spot as far as their major league catchers go. Naylor got most of the starts in the early going, but he only put up a 22 wRC+ before being optioned down on May 9th. Austin Hedges and Patrick Bailey are the current tandem behind the plate. The former’s 98 wRC+ is well above his career norms, while the latter’s .154/.207/.238 output would be unplayable at any other position. Both Hedges and Bailey are lauded for their defense, but neither is a strong option on offense.
Overall, Guardians catchers are batting .210/.265/.326 with a 65 wRC+. That mark is fifth-worst in the Majors and well below the 89 wRC+ put up by catchers around the league. With the AL Central being a weak division, the club is likely thinking about ways to upgrade the roster and pull ahead of the rest of the group. Given their Bottom-5 payroll, internal upgrades might be the most efficient way to achieve that.
All that’s to say that Cleveland has both a surplus of catching depth as well as a need for more offense at the big league level. Ingle, in particular, has the prospect pedigree and upper minors track record to warrant a promotion at some point. He’d need to establish himself against major league pitching, but Hedges and Bailey’s weak hitting is reason enough for Ingle to get a shot.
Naylor and Huff would find themselves lower on the depth chart in that scenario. While Naylor holds some value as a young player (he’s only 26) who’s controllable for there years beyond this one, he simply hasn’t established himself offensively in the Majors. Naylor had a 123 wRC+ in 230 plate appearances in 2023, but he has just a 74 wRC+ in 893 PA from 2024-26. He’s also a lesser option on defense compared to Hedges and Bailey, with Naylor declining to 1 Defensive Run Saved in 2025 following an 11 DRS season the year prior.
All told, it’s notable that Naylor has been relegated to Triple-A for the last month and change, with the Guards accepting the lack of offense from Hedges and Bailey. As for Huff, he’s improved greatly on offense, with a 144 wRC+ at Triple-A this year compared to a 71 wRC+ in 2025. That said, he is not considered a top prospect and profiles as a depth piece at best. Theoretically, that could leave Huff and Naylor as the most expendable out of the three catchers mentioned by Rosenthal.
Rosenthal clarifies that the Guardians might not be in a rush to deal from their catching depth. The free agent market is projected to be weak, with none of the catchers being younger than 30 in 2027. In that context, Cleveland might consider holding on to their depth and sorting out the logjam during the offseason when demand will still be favorable. Hedges is a free agent after this season, while Bailey is under control through 2029. Assuming Hedges leaves, that could open a spot for Ingle on the big league roster, with Naylor and Huff sticking at Triple-A if they don’t end up being traded.
Guardians Trade Nolan Jones To White Sox
The Guardians announced they’ve traded non-roster outfielder Nolan Jones and cash considerations to the White Sox. Chicago sends a $250K international bonus pool allotment to Cleveland in return.
Cleveland outrighted Jones off their 40-man roster at the end of Spring Training. He therefore won’t immediately occupy a roster spot for Chicago. The Sox announced that they’ve assigned him to Triple-A Charlotte. Jones has spent the entire season in the International League with Cleveland’s affiliate in Columbus.
The 28-year-old Jones appeared in the Majors each season from 2022-25. He had by far his best season with the Rockies in 2023, hitting .297/.389/.542 with 20 homers in a little over 400 plate appearances. Back problems limited him to half a season a year later. His numbers plummeted, as he hit only .227/.321/.320 with three homers in 79 games.
Colorado moved on after that injury-riddled season. The Rox dealt Jones back to Cleveland, the organization that had drafted him in 2016 and with which he made a brief debut six years later. He spent the entire season on the MLB roster, aside from a season-ending oblique strain in late September, but did not rebound offensively. Jones mustered only a .211/.296/.304 batting line while striking out in 28% of his 403 trips to the plate.
It came as a surprise that the Guardians tendered him an arbitration contract after a second consecutive season of below replacement level production. The sides hammered out a $2MM agreement early in the offseason. Jones had a rough camp and failed to make the team out of Spring Training. He cleared waivers and had an easy call to accept an assignment to Triple-A so as not to forfeit that salary.
Jones is amidst a nice year in the minors. He’s hitting .275/.385/.460 with eight longballs across 226 plate appearances. He’s striking out a little too often (24.3%) but hitting the ball hard and drawing walks at an excellent 14.2% rate. Jones has had that “three true outcomes” approach throughout his career.
The Guardians are paying an undisclosed portion of the roughly $1.15MM he’s owed through the end of the season. The White Sox weren’t going to take on that entire sum for a Triple-A player. Cleveland takes the opportunity to get some amount of salary relief for a player who had clearly been squeezed out of their plans. The Guardians haven’t gotten much from their outfield lately, but Jones was behind the 10 outfield options they have on their 40-man roster.
Chicago isn’t actually sending cash. They’re trading $250K in space from their hard-capped bonus pool for international amateurs, which means the Guardians can spend a little more of their own money to add to their farm system. The White Sox seemingly don’t intend to sign anyone else of note before the close of this period. They also packaged $250K in bonus space alongside Derek Hill in their afternoon trade with the Phillies to add a couple minor leaguers.
Jones gives them some upper minors depth for right field, which has been an issue this season. They’re in better shape now with Braden Montgomery up and Everson Pereira back from the injured list, but they don’t have much depth in the upper minors. Jones would be eligible for arbitration for a few years if the Sox call him up before the end of the season. He’d otherwise become a minor league free agent once the regular season concludes.
Will The Guardians Make An Outfield Move?
The Guardians enter this afternoon’s series finale against the Yankees with a narrow lead in the AL Central. They’re half a game up on the White Sox with a 37-32 record in their bid for a third consecutive division title.
It has been a similar story to the past few iterations of Guards baseball. They have one of the better bullpens in the American League, moving seamlessly to Cade Smith in the ninth inning while getting surprisingly strong work from reclamation pickup Colin Holderman. They could use another lefty, but the back end is generally a strength.
They’re the only team that has used the same five-man rotation all season, mostly successfully. Parker Messick and Gavin Williams have made for an excellent combination at the top. Tanner Bibee, Slade Cecconi and Joey Cantillo have been less consistent but reasonably effective overall.
The other side of the ball remains the big question. The offense isn’t as bad as last season, when they somehow won the division despite scoring the fewest runs in the American League. They’re certainly better positioned in the middle infield with Travis Bazzana at second base and Brayan Rocchio amidst a breakout season at shortstop.
It’s still one of the weaker overall lineups in the league, however. They’re 10th in the AL in scoring, 12th in home runs, and last in batting average and slugging. They’ve worked enough walks to get to middle of the pack in on-base percentage. By measure of wRC+, only the Red Sox and Royals have had less productive offenses among AL teams. They’re 22nd by that measure overall and 21st in MLB in runs scored.
There should be a clear target area for the front office as they approach deadline season: the outfield. Cleveland is clearly content to punt offense from the catcher position. First base hasn’t been great overall, but Kyle Manzardo and Rhys Hoskins have each gotten going since the beginning of May. The outfield, on the other hand, has been rough after a reasonably encouraging start to the season.
Cleveland outfielders were hitting .251/.321/.413 through the end of April. They were 12th in OPS and tied for 11th in homers. Since the calendar turned to May, they’ve combined for a .215/.291/.310 line across 465 plate appearances. Their .601 OPS over the last six weeks is dead last in the Majors. They’ve hit just eight home runs, above only the White Sox, Rays, and Royals. Only Houston outfielders have fared worse by the park-adjusted metrics.
Essentially the entire outfield has gone cold. Chase DeLauter started his career with a bang, homering four times in his first three regular season MLB games. He added another homer amidst a three-hit game on April 3. He’s gone deep just twice since then and has a .252/.315/.333 line since the beginning of May. It’s common for players even as talented as DeLauter to have some ruts during their rookie seasons. He’s not in danger of losing playing time, but his slump exposes the depth concerns elsewhere.
Steven Kwan was supposed to be the stabilizer. He’s an elite defensive left fielder whom the Guardians felt could play a capable center field on a semi-regular basis. Kwan has impressed defensively, but his bat has tanked. He’s hitting .213/.323/.262 with just one home run through 264 trips to the plate. No other qualifier has made less hard contact.
Kwan’s game has always been about plate discipline rather than hard contact. He rarely expands the strike zone and probably has the best pure contact skills of anyone not named Luis Arraez. That’s still intact — even Arraez has a slightly higher swing-and-miss rate this year — but Kwan can’t be a productive hitter without some kind of extra-base impact. He’d topped 10 home runs in both 2024 and ’25 and hit at least 25 doubles in three of his first four seasons. This year, he’s on pace for 19 doubles and two homers. Stephen Vogt dropped him from the leadoff spot in favor of Bazzana in mid-May; Kwan has hit seventh for the past couple weeks.
It’d be less concerning if this were only a bad two-month stretch. Kwan’s numbers trended down during the second half of the ’25 season as well. He’s a .233/.311/.310 hitter in nearly 700 trips to the plate over the last calendar year.
Kwan has come up in trade rumors for the last few seasons. It’d be less straightforward to move him now than it would’ve been last summer, when they were deadline sellers before going on an improbable run to seize the division from Detroit. At the same time, Kwan is the team’s second-highest paid player on a $7.725MM salary.
That’ll probably jump into eight figures for his final arbitration season. He’s on pace to be worth roughly one win above replacement despite the defensive contributions. Would a team that runs one of the lowest payrolls in the sport be willing to tender him a $10MM contract if he hits like this all season? If they feel he’s trending toward a non-tender, they could entertain trade scenarios this summer while looking to acquire a corner outfielder who has more offensive punch.
That’s complicated by their lack of recent production from center and right field. Hot starts from Angel Martínez and Daniel Schneemann were among the reasons for Cleveland’s early success. Schneemann’s fantastic April always felt unsustainable, and he has hit .160/.233/.181 since the beginning of May. Schneemann has gotten some run as a regular center fielder but should be in a utility role.
Martínez has bigger physical tools and can certainly flash significant upside. He’s less than a month removed from winning AL Player of the Week after popping four homers in five games. Martínez also has an extremely aggressive approach and almost never walks, lowering the floor from an on-base perspective.
He’s among the bottom 10 qualified hitters this year with a .275 OBP. In 19 games since the Player of the Week award, he’s hitting .178 with a .200 on-base mark — though he matched last year’s career high by connecting on his 11th home run of the season this afternoon.
Schneemann and Martínez are each capable big leaguers, but they should be role players rather than locked into the everyday lineup on a contender. Cleveland has Kahlil Watson, George Valera, CJ Kayfus and Petey Halpin on the 40-man roster and on optional assignment in Triple-A.
Watson and Valera have hit pretty well against minor league pitching, as has non-roster corner bat Nolan Jones. Neither Valera nor Watson has an MLB track record. Jones hasn’t hit big league pitching since 2023. Gabriel Arias could get some outfield work when he returns from a hamstring strain, but his strikeout issues are well established.
Although the Guardians aren’t typically aggressive deadline buyers, they could move one or two of their toolsy but unestablished minor league outfielders for someone with a higher floor. There aren’t many defined sellers yet, though the Rockies have a couple outfielders (Mickey Moniak and Jake McCarthy) who should be available. Moniak is currently sidelined by ankle tendinitis but expected back before the deadline. Lars Nootbaar, Taylor Ward, Trevor Larnach, Casey Schmitt and Jacob Young are some of the other players who could hit the trade market. Adding someone to raise the offensive floor should be the priority next month.
White Sox Re-Acquire Peyton Pallette From Guardians
TODAY: Pallette cleared waivers and was offered back to the White Sox, with MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins writing that Chicago has accepted the right-hander back into the fold. The Sox have assigned Pallette to Triple-A Charlotte.
MAY 24: Right-hander Peyton Pallette has been designated for assignment, the Guardians announced. Lefty Logan Allen is rejoining the big-league club to take his spot in the bullpen.
Cleveland picked up Pallette from the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft. As part of the standard DFA process, the club has five days to trade him or place him on waivers. If another team makes a move to add Pallette, they’ll take on the Rule 5 requirements. If Pallette passes through waivers, he’ll be offered back to Chicago.
Pallette scuffled to a 5.23 ERA in 20 2/3 innings with the Guardians. He punched out opponents at a decent 22.7% clip, but it came with an untenable 16.5% walk rate. The righty led with a 95 mph four-seamer, accompanied by a pair of breaking balls. He threw the occasional changeup. Pallette’s curveball and slider both performed well, generating decent whiffs and preventing hits. The fastball was an issue. Pallette’s heater ceded a 51.6% hard-hit rate and a .410 wOBA.
The White Sox took Pallette in the second round of the 2022 draft. He posted strong strikeout numbers in each level of the minors, which is what likely drew Cleveland’s interest. Walks were becoming a problem before Pallette moved to his new organization. The righty had a 9.9% walk rate last season at Double-A, and it jumped to 10.9% after he was moved to Triple-A.
Allen has pitched in parts of the last three seasons with the Guardians. He’s worked almost exclusively as a starter in the big leagues, posting a 4.48 ERA in 74 appearances (73 starts). Allen has struggled from a run prevention perspective through eight Triple-A outings this season, but he’s notched a solid 25.4% strikeout rate. He’ll likely step into a long relief role with Cleveland. Allen could also operate as a sixth starter if the club wants to get some extra rest for the rotation. The Guardians are playing their 10th straight game on Sunday during a two-week stretch without an off-day.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
Guardians Select Stuart Fairchild
The Guardians have selected the contract of outfielder Stuart Fairchild from Triple-A Columbus. He takes the active roster spot of fellow outfielder Steven Kwan, who has been placed on the bereavement/family medical emergency list. To open a 40-man spot, infielder Gabriel Arias has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. Tim Stebbins of MLB.com was among those to relay the moves.
Fairchild has experience in parts of five MLB seasons and has three-plus years of major league service. He’s a glove-first outfielder with a lifetime .223/.305/.384 batting line in 277 big league games (670 plate appearances). The 30-year-old right-handed hitter hasn’t done much of anything against righties in his career (.203/.269/.366), but he carries a .246/.343/.404 line against lefties, which is a bit better than league-average production (106 wRC+).
Cleveland signed Fairchild to a minor league deal over the winter. He started the season in Columbus and has hit quite well there, batting .289/.417/.479 with five homers, eight doubles, a pair of triples, nine steals (in 11 attempts), a 14.8% walk rate and an 18.2% strikeout rate in 176 turns at the plate. That stout production isn’t necessarily a portent for a major league breakout, however. It falls right in line with Fairchild’s career .281/.384/.500 batting line in 706 Triple-A plate appearances.
Fairchild is a plus runner capable of playing all three outfield spots at an average or better clip. Statcast credited him with 86th-percentile sprint speed last year, and he carries strong career marks in Defensive Runs Saved (10) and Outs Above Average (9) in just under 1500 innings of big league outfield work. Fairchild is out of minor league options and thus might wind up being designated for assignment once Kwan returns.
Arias, 26, has been out since early April due to a hamstring strain. He was already approaching 60 days on the injured list, making today’s move little more than a formality, but he doesn’t appear close to returning anyhow. Manager Stephen Vogt conceded earlier this month that Arias’ recovery has been a bit on the slow side. He still hasn’t progressed to a minor league rehab assignment, which he’ll clearly need after spending close to two months on the shelf.
Arias is out of minor league options, which will present Cleveland with a decision when he’s ready to return. Shortstop Brayan Rocchio is having a breakout year at the plate, and former No. 1 pick Travis Bazzana has hit the ground running in his initial call to the majors. Neither is going to be displaced for Arias, a career .215/.273/.358 hitter. It’s possible the Guardians will keep Arias in a reserve role, but utilityman Daniel Schneemann is having a productive season in his own right.
All of that hinges on the health of the Guardians’ roster whenever Arias is able to return, of course. For the time being, his focus is simply on getting back into playing shape, but his fit on the roster doesn’t look as clean as it once did.
Travis Kelce Purchases Minority Stake In Guardians
Longtime Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has purchased a minority stake in his hometown club, the Cleveland Guardians, per a team announcement. It’s not clear how large a stake he purchased. He’s reportedly earned more than $111MM in career salary with the Chiefs, to say nothing of other revenue streams (e.g. endorsements, podcast).
“I have so much love for this city,” Kelce tells ESPN’s Jeff Passan. “I say it all the time: I’m just a kid from the Heights living the dream. I credit every good thing in my life to Cleveland and being raised here with the values and the people and the work ethic. Cleveland Heights is such a diverse and dynamic place. Every friend, neighbor, teacher and teammate — they all made me the man I am today. It just fueled such a deep appreciation for life and community and service. … There was nothing like Cleveland baseball in the ’90s. That’s just a core memory for me. Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Jim Thome, Sandy Alomar Jr., the list goes on, and I admire how they just continue to pour into this city and this game.”
The Dolan family still holds the majority stake in the team. The late Larry Dolan purchased the club for a reported $323MM back in 2000. Recent estimates have pegged the Guardians’ present-day franchise value at more than five times that sum.
Larry Dolan passed away at 94 years of age in Feb. 2025. His son, Paul, had succeeded him as the team’s official control person back in 2013 and remains the team’s chairman and chief executive officer. However, in 2022, the Dolan family agreed to sell a 25-30% stake in the team to David Blitzer, the managing partner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Blitzer also has minority stakes in the NFL’s Washington Commanders and in Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake. His 2022 deal with the Dolan family also came with the option to purchase a majority stake of the club in 2028.
Kelce, 37 in October, is an 11-time Pro Bowler with three Super Bowl rings. He ranks third all-time among tight ends in both receptions and receiving yards and is fifth all-time in touchdowns at his position. His stake isn’t likely to be a significant one, though it’s always feasible that he seeks to increase his share at some point down the road. Kelce’s teammate and fellow three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes can now formally be on opposite ends of an American League Central rivalry; Mahomes purchased a minority stake in the Royals back in 2020.
Guardians Select Will Dion
The Guardians announced that they have selected to contract of left-hander Will Dion. The 40-man roster had a vacancy due to Rule 5 pick Peyton Pallette being designated for assignment a few days ago. To open an active roster spot for Dion, left-hander Logan Allen was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.
Dion, 26, was a ninth-round pick in the 2021 draft. As he climbed the minor league ladder, he worked primarily as a starter. Despite not having elite velocity, he was able to put up pretty good numbers through Double-A but struggled when he first reached Triple-A.
Here in 2026, he has been working exclusively out of the bullpen with very encouraging results. He has thrown 26 innings over 15 appearances, allowing 4.50 earned runs per nine. That ERA is obviously not going to knock any socks off but things look much better under the hood. Dion has struck out 34.6% of batters faced and only given out walks to 4.8% of opponents. The extra runs seem to have been caused by a .371 batting average on balls in play and 58% strand rate, which are both to the unlucky side. His 1.83 FIP on the year paints a much more flattering picture than his ERA.
As mentioned, Dion doesn’t light up the radar gun. He was averaging around 90 miles per hour with his four-seamer in 2024 and 2025. He has ticked up in a relief role this year but only to 91.2 mph. Statcast also credits him with a sinker, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup. Going into 2025, when he was still a starter, FanGraphs ranked him the #37 prospect in the club’s system. That report noted that Dion’s delivery resembled that of Clayton Kershaw. It also stated that Dion’s fastball can outperform the velo thanks to its riding life and that his secondaries are not outstanding but the change plays up thanks to Dion’s excellent command.
The Guards have had Erik Sabrowski and Tim Herrin as their two lefty relievers for most of the season. Allen was called up on Sunday to add a long relief option. Sabrowski hit the IL yesterday, then Allen was needed to cover four innings out of the bullpen in last night’s contest. With Sabrowski on the shelf and Allen unavailable for a few days, Dion has been added.
For now, Dion gives Cleveland a second lefty reliever alongside Herrin and will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. Both Herrin and Dion are optionable, should the Guards decide to make a switch later in the year, or if Sabrowski is able to get healthy relatively quickly.
Photo courtesy of Arianna Grainey, Imagn Images
Guardians Place Erik Sabrowski On IL With Elbow Inflammation
The Guardians announced that left-hander Erik Sabrowski has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation. Right-hander Codi Heuer was recalled as the corresponding move.
Sabrowski has beek a key arm out of the Cleveland bullpen with an approach that is wild but effective. He now has 63 innings under his belt, thrown over the three most recent seasons, allowing just 1.43 earned runs per nine. His 15.1% walk rate is very high but he has also punched out a massive 39.8% of batters faced.
The ERA is surely at least a bit misleading. He has a .224 batting average on balls in play and 87.8% strand rate, both of which are fortunate figures. His 2.52 FIP and 2.89 SIERA are probably more accurate representations of his contributions but he would be a big asset even if his ERA regresses to that level. Thus far, he has racked up a save and 29 holds for the Guards, including 17 holds already in 2026.
Elbow issues have been an issue before. He missed the first three months of the 2025 season due to elbow inflammation and that same issue now puts him on the shelf again. It’s unclear if the Guards consider his current status to be serious but it’s always somewhat concerning when a pitcher’s throwing elbow is the focus of an injury.
For now, the Guardians lose one of their key setup arms and their primary lefty reliever. They are now left with Tim Herrin and Logan Allen as their southpaw relievers. Allen has primarily been in the rotation in his career and was starting in Triple-A until being recalled yesterday, so he’s likely slated for a long relief role, meaning Herrin could be the only lefty for key spots late in games. Herrin has a 2.12 ERA this year but not in a sustainable way. His 16.3% strikeout rate and 15% walk rate are both awful numbers. His run prevention is mostly due to an 87% strand rate that won’t last.
The Guards are 32-23, giving them a lead of 4.5 games in the American League Central. They are in a good position to go into the deadline as buyers. Most contenders look for extra relief help at the deadline and that may be a more acute need for the Guards if their lefty contingent continues to feel light over the next few months.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images