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Guardians Select Kolby Allard

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The Guardians announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Kolby Allard from Triple-A Columbus.  Left-hander Erik Sabrowski was moved to the 60-day injured list and right-hander Zak Kent was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding moves. As reported yesterday, Cleveland also called up Doug Nikhazy as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader with the Red Sox.

Allard signed a minor league deal with the Guards back in February, after the Phillies outrighted the southpaw off their roster following the 2024 season and Allard elected free agency.  It was essentially an early non-tender move for Philadelphia, as Allard was arbitration-eligible and projected to earn $1.1MM in 2025, though the Phils still opted against paying this modest sum.

The veteran didn’t make a sterling case for himself in posting a 5.00 ERA in 27 innings for the Phillies last year, with only a 19.7% strikeout rate but a solid 6.8% walk rate.  Allard’s 4.18 SIERA was notably better than his ERA, and it was the second-best SIERA Allard has posted during a seven-year MLB career that has seen the lefty post a 5.99 ERA across 272 innings with three different teams.  Allard hasn’t posted particularly good numbers as either a starter or as a reliever, but his ability to work in both capacities as a swingman has kept getting him opportunities at the big league level.

Yesterday’s rainout gave the Guardians an unexpected off-day, and it lines up a busy upcoming stretch of the schedule.  Cleveland will now play 13 games over the next 12 days, so having a versatile innings-eater like Allard on hand is a useful way to help the pitching staff cope with this increased workload.  It remains to be seen exactly how long Allard might stick on the Guardians’ roster, however, and since he is out of minor league options, the Guards would have to first designate him for assignment and expose him to waivers before outrighting him back to the minors.  Allard would again have the ability to opt for free agency over an outright assignment, should this situation play out.

Sabrowski began the season the 15-day IL after elbow inflammation kept him from pitching during Spring Training.  A move to the 60-day injured list counts as no surprise since Sabrowski will still need a lengthy ramp-up period to make up for the lack of his regular prep time, though it means his 2025 debut will be held off until late May at the earliest.  (As a reminder, the clock for a 60-day IL placement starts at the time of an initial IL placement, not from the time a player is officially moved to the 60-day.)

Guardians To Promote Doug Nikhazy

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The Guardians list left-hander Doug Nikhazy as their probable starter for the second game of tomorrow’s doubleheader against the Red Sox. Cleveland already added him to their 40-man roster over the offseason. Teams are permitted to carry an extra player on the active roster during a doubleheader, so they won’t need to make any corresponding moves.

It’ll be Nikhazy’s major league debut. Cleveland drafted the Ole Miss product in the second round in 2021. The 6’0″ southpaw has turned in generally solid numbers over four minor league seasons. He owns a 3.87 earned run average across 346 1/3 professional innings. Nikhazy turned in a 2.98 ERA through 123 2/3 frames divided between the top two minor league levels last year. He punched out a little more than a quarter of opponents while issuing walks at a slightly elevated 10.8% clip.

Baseball America ranked Nikhazy as the #16 prospect in the Cleveland system over the offseason. BA writes that he features a four-pitch mix that’s headlined by his slider and changeup. He doesn’t throw hard, averaging 90.9 MPH on his fastball this season. The secondaries have generally missed bats, though Nikhazy’s fringe command means he’s not quite a pitchability lefty.

Nikhazy has worked 18 1/3 innings across four starts at Triple-A Columbus this year. He has allowed nine runs, seven earned, with 22 strikeouts and seven walks. Tomorrow’s start will probably be a one-off enabled by the extra roster spot, but his solid minor league track record means he could be up and down as rotation depth over the course of the season.

Guardians Designate Three Players For Assignment

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The Guardians added four players to their 40-man roster before tonight’s Rule 5 deadline: pitchers Franco Aleman, Nic Enright, and Doug Nikhazy and outfielder Petey Halpin. To open 40-man spots, Cleveland designated former top outfield prospect George Valera and relievers Peter Strzelecki and Connor Gillispie for assignment.

The most notable piece of news here is the club opting to part ways with Valera. The 24-year-old is just a couple of years removed from being a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport but has been plagued by injuries over the past two years. Valera underwent offseason hand surgery prior to the 2023 season and ultimately did not make his season debut until May of that year, ultimately playing just 11 games prior to June 17 of that year due to additional injury woes. Overall, he hit just .211/.343/.375 despite an excellent 16% walk rate last year.

Things improved in his age-23 season with the Guardians this year on offense, as he hit .248/.337/.452 with 17 home runs, a major step in right direction after slugging just ten the year prior. Unfortunately, Valera was once again limited by injury and played just 90 games in 2024 before going under the knife again back in September. That surgery came with a six-to-nine month recovery timetable, which left him poised to start 2025 on the injured list and likely not be available as a potential big league contributor until the second half of next year at the earliest.

Given the former top prospect’s injury woes and relatively modest production at Triple-A, the Guardians evidently decided to cut him from the 40-man roster. Now, Valera will be available for any interested club to claim off waivers. If he manages to clear waivers, the Guardians will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues and retain him in the organization for 2025. Importantly, Valera does not have minor league options remaining so any acquiring club would either need to carry him on their active roster or sneak him through waivers themselves later in the offseason.

As for Strzelecki, the 30-year-old right-hander has appeared in the majors in each of the past three seasons but only arrived in Cleveland back in March. Prior to this year, Strzelecki made his big league debut for the Brewers back in 2022 and pitched quite well with a 2.83 ERA and 2.94 FIP in 35 innings of work. The right-hander suffered a down year in 2023, however, as he pitched to a 4.54 ERA in 35 2/3 frames for Milwaukee before being swapped to the Diamondbacks at the 2023 trade deadline in exchange for southpaw Andrew Chafin. Strzelecki made just one appearance in a Dbacks uniform last year where he threw 1 1/3 scoreless frames.

The righty was squeezed off of Arizona’s 40-man roster in the run-up to Opening Day this year in order to make room for the addition of Tucker Barnhart, and the Guardians pounced on the opportunity to bring him into the fold. He served as an up-and-down reliever for Cleveland this year and pitched quite well in a limited sample with a 2.31 ERA and 3.77 FIP in 11 2/3 innings of work, though that wasn’t enough to earn a more permanent spot in a loaded Guardians bullpen. With Strzelecki set to enter 2025 without any option years remaining, the Guardians opted to part ways with the right-hander, who could garner interest from rival clubs on the waiver wire now that he’s available.

Gillispie, meanwhile, made his big league debut with the Guardians just this year. He pitched to a 2.25 ERA in eight innings of work in the majors to go along with a rather pedestrian 4.05 ERA in 27 appearances (15 starts) at Triple-A. The 27-year-old will enter the 2025 campaign with options remaining, which could make him particularly attractive to a pitching-needy club as an optionable young arm with the ability to pitch both in the rotation and out of the bullpen.

As for the quartet of prospects, each will be protected from the Rule 5 Draft next month now that they’re on the 40-man roster. Aleman, 24, turned in a dominant season in relief at the Triple-A level with a 1.99 ERA and a 36.6% strikeout rate in 24 appearances. The 27-year-old Enright was picked in the Rule 5 draft one before by the Marlins but was eventually returned to the Guardians. A two-way player for much of his career, the right-hander turned to pitching full-time in 2024 and looked quite good in a small sample as he posted a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings of work with an incredible 49.2% strikeout rate. Nikhazy, a 25-year-old lefty, split 2024 between the Double- and Triple-A rotations and posted solid numbers with a 2.98 ERA and 25.4% strikeout rate in 123 2/3 innings of work, potentially putting him on the radar for big league starts in 2025. Halpin is the lone position player the Guardians protected, and the club’s third-round pick in the 2020 draft and slashed .233/.314/.399 in 90 games at Triple-A this year.

Cleveland Signs Gavin Williams, Doug Nikhazy

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The Cleveland soon-to-be Guardians have come to terms with their first-round draft pick. Gavin Williams, taken with the 23rd overall selection, signed for $2.25MM, more than half a million under the slot amount of $2.93MM, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter).

This seemed like a natural pairing to many, given Cleveland’s success developing pitching and Williams’ tantalizing triple-digit fastball. The soon-to-be 22-year-old posted a 1.99 ERA across 81 1/3 innings for the East Carolina Pirates while winning AAC Pitcher of the Year.

The under slot money can be explained by Williams’ going a little higher in the draft than many expected. ESPN projected him as the 33rd pick, MLB.com had him at 31, and Baseball America put him at #30. Keith Law at the Athletic was even less bullish, placing him at 55th on his list, noting an “intermittent health history.” Conversely, Fangraphs liked him better than most, placing him at 19th on their pre-draft rankings.

Cleveland also came to terms with second-rounder Doug Nikhazy, notes Callis. The Mississippi southpaw signed for $1.2MM, just about equal to the slot value for where he was selected (58th overall).

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