Kolby Allard Elects Free Agency
Left-hander Kolby Allard has elected free agency after being sent outright to Triple-A Columbus, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.
Players have the right to reject outright assignments if they have a previous career outright or at least three years of service time. Allard qualifies on both counts and has exercised his right to head to the open market.
He is free to explore options with other clubs but the most likely outcome is that he re-signs with the Guards on a new minor league deal in the coming days. It’s common for players to return to their former clubs in these instances and that’s especially true with Allard specifically. He has been bouncing on and off the Cleveland roster for the better part of a year now, since he is out of options.
He signed a minor league deal with the club in February of 2025. He was added to the roster in April. In July, he was designated for assignment, elected free agency, re-signed to a new minor league deal and was back on the roster in less than a week. He was outrighted again at season’s end, then signed a new minor league deal ahead of this year’s spring training. He was added to the roster in late March and lasted on the roster for a couple of weeks before Monday’s DFA.
The transactions are probably not pleasant but Allard is presumably happy to get some major league pay and service time. The Guards, meanwhile, get some extra depth by keeping the relationship with Allard going.
Last year’s results were excellent, in that he tossed 65 innings as a swingman, allowing 2.63 earned runs per nine. That kind of run prevention wasn’t sustainable when he was only striking out 15.8% of batters faced, which is why he cleared waivers multiple times. This year’s results have been far worse, in a much smaller sample. He logged 8 2/3 innings over four appearances, allowing ten earned runs.
Perhaps news of a new deal with the Guards will emerge in the coming days, though there are several other clubs dealing with injuries, so the possibility of him signing elsewhere can’t be entirely ruled out.
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Guardians Designate Kolby Allard For Assignment
The Guardians announced today that outfielder George Valera and right-hander Hunter Gaddis have each been reinstated from the injured list. In corresponding moves, outfielder/first baseman CJ Kayfus has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus and left-hander Kolby Allard has been designated for assignment. The Allard DFA drops their 40-man roster tally to 39.
Allard’s out-of-options status has squeezed him off the roster a few times. Last year, Cleveland ran him through outright waivers in early July, only to re-sign him five days later. He finished the season with the big league club and was waived again at season’s end. Allard returned on an offseason minor league deal and was called back up within the first week.
The southpaw was a valuable long relief piece for skipper Stephen Vogt last season. Allard managed 65 innings of 2.63 ERA ball despite sitting around 90 mph with his fastball and running one of the league’s lowest strikeout rates. He has tossed 8 2/3 frames over four low-leverage relief appearances this year. Allard has surrendered 10 runs on 16 hits, including a five-run outing over three frames in yesterday’s blowout loss at the hands of the Braves.
Cleveland will very likely place Allard back on waivers this week. There’s a decent chance he clears again, at which point he’d have the right to elect free agency. The Guardians like him as a depth arm given the number of times they’ve brought him back, so they’d presumably have interest in re-signing him to a minor league deal.
Gaddis returns from a minor forearm issue that bothered him early in Spring Training. He has quietly been one of the better relievers in MLB over the past two seasons. If he’s fully healthy, he projects as one of Cleveland’s top two setup arms (along with Shawn Armstrong) in front of Cade Smith. Gaddis’ fastball velocity was down a couple ticks to a 92.8 mph average during a five-game rehab assignment with Columbus. They might try to ease him back into action in medium-leverage situations in the early going.
Valera is also back from a season-opening IL stay. The 25-year-old corner outfielder suffered a mild calf strain late in camp. Valera hit well over eight games on a rehab stint. He’ll join Steven Kwan, Chase DeLauter, Angel Martínez and utilityman Daniel Schneemann in a lefty-heavy outfield. His return pushes Kayfus back to Triple-A after a .182/.280/.364 start over his first nine games.
Guardians Designate Doug Nikhazy For Assignment
The Guardians announced that they have selected left-hander Kolby Allard to the 40-man roster. To open an active roster spot, right-hander Colin Holderman has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus. In a corresponding 40-man move, left-hander Doug Nikhazy has been designated for assignment.
Allard, 28, bounced on and off Cleveland’s roster last year in a swing role. He tossed 65 innings over 33 appearances, including two starts, with an excellent 2.63 earned run average. Maintaining an ERA in that range was likely not possible. He benefited from a 79.2% strand rate with only 5.6% of his fly balls leaving the yard. His 5.3% walk rate was good but his 15.8% strikeout rate and 38% ground ball rate were subpar. His 4.41 SIERA suggested his ERA may have been almost two full runs to the lucky side.
The Guards outrighted him off the roster at season’s end but then re-signed him to a new minor league deal. Though it’s only a few days into the season, the Guardians are probably adding Allard in case they need some length to spare the bullpen. They are in Los Angeles for three games against a tough Dodger lineup, making it possible one of their starters gets knocked out early. On top of that, there’s some concern around Tanner Bibee. The righty departed his Opening Day start after five innings due to shoulder inflammation.
Parker Messick is starting the first game against the Dodgers tonight. Manager Stephen Vogt recently said Bibee could make his scheduled start in the second game, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. Gavin Williams is scheduled for the third game. If someone gets knocked out early or Bibee’s shoulder flares up, Allard could be called upon to eat some innings.
The move will cost Nikhazy his spot on the 40-man roster. The 26-year-old was a second-round pick in the 2021 draft. He generally posted solid numbers on his way up the ladder. From 2022 to 2024, he logged 328 innings over 70 starts and five relief appearances with a 3.90 ERA. His 26.8% strikeout rate was quite strong but his 14.5% walk rate was not.
The Guards added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2024, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. His results backed up last year. He posted a 5.02 ERA at the Triple-A level. His 11.1% walk rate was an improvement but still a high figure, while his 22.5% strikeout rate was a drop from his previous seasons. He made his major league debut allowed six earned runs in four innings.
Nikhazy is now bumped into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Guards could take as long as five days to see if there’s any trade interest. Nikhazy is still optionable for another two seasons, which could add to his appeal for a club looking to add depth to the minor league system. Despite his underwhelming 2025, Baseball America still ranked him as the club’s #28 prospect coming into this year.
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Guardians Re-Sign Kolby Allard To Minor League Deal
The Guardians announced today that they have re-signed left-hander Kolby Allard to a minor league deal. The Excel Sports Management client also receives an invite to big league camp.
Allard, 28, is a soft-tossing swingman. He hasn’t always been effective, with a 5.34 earned run average in his career, but he’s coming off a good season in Cleveland. The Guards signed him to a minor league deal almost exactly one year ago today. He bounced on and off the roster a couple of times throughout the season. He gave the club 65 innings over 33 appearances with a 2.63 ERA while averaging just over 90 miles per hour with his four-seamer and sinker.
That ERA figure was surely at least slightly misleading. His 5.3% walk rate was really strong but he only struck out 15.8% of batters faced and his 38% ground ball rate was also a bit below par. He seemed to benefit from a high strand rate of 79.2%. His 3.54 FIP and 4.41 SIERA were notably less optimistic than his ERA.
The Guards seemingly agreed more with those advanced metrics. They could have retained Allard for 2026 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $1.9MM salary. Instead, the Guards outrighted him off the roster at season’s end and he elected free agency. He’s now been brought back but without taking up a roster spot.
Cleveland used Allard almost exclusively in relief a year ago. He made a pair of spot starts but didn’t go beyond four innings in either appearance. He’ll likely battle for another low-leverage bullpen job in camp. Cleveland has Rule 5 pick Peyton Pallette and out-of-options middle reliever Connor Brogdon competing for spots during Spring Training. They’d each need to make the team or be dropped from the 40-man roster — and in Pallette’s case, offered back to the White Sox if he clears waivers. Allard has over five years of MLB service and would be able to refuse future minor league assignments if the Guardians call him up at any point.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
Guardians Decline Club Option On John Means
The Guardians have declined their $6MM option on left-hander John Means, per Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. Means is now a free agent. Additionally, left-handers Kolby Allard and Matt Krook, right-hander Ben Lively, catcher Dom Nuñez and infielder Will Wilson have been outrighted off the roster and elected free agency, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic.
Means signed a one-year, $1MM free agent deal last winter. He was rehabbing his second career Tommy John procedure and hoped to make it back for the final few weeks of the ’25 season. That didn’t happen. Means was able to make five rehab starts with Triple-A Columbus but struggled to a 7.97 earned run average over 20 1/3 innings. The Guards weren’t going to make a $6MM commitment off that limited body of work.
The 32-year-old Means was an All-Star with the Orioles in 2019. He pitched to a 3.68 ERA over parts of seven seasons as a generally reliable mid-rotation arm with Baltimore. Injuries have unfortunately robbed him of most of the past four years. He’s looking at minor league offers or an incentive-laden MLB deal.
Of the outrighted players, Allard made the most significant contributions to the 2025 Guardians. He put up a 2.63 ERA across 65 innings as a long reliever. Allard throws roughly 90 MPH and doesn’t miss bats, though, so there’s generally been skepticism about his ability to churn out strong results. This is the second time this year that he went unclaimed on waivers.
Lively was Cleveland’s Opening Day starter this year. He carried a 3.22 ERA over his first nine outings but blew out in May. He underwent Tommy John surgery that’ll cost him the bulk of the ’26 season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Lively for a $2.7MM arbitration salary. That’s not outlandish but not exactly a drop in the bucket for a low-payroll franchise to devote to a journeyman starter who’ll miss the majority of the season. This serves essentially as an early non-tender, but it’s possible Lively has shown enough to command a cheap big league deal from another club.
Krook was claimed off waivers from the A’s in May. Cleveland kept him in Triple-A for the rest of the season. He turned in 34 innings of 3.18 ERA ball with Columbus. Nuñez is a depth catcher who only made it into two games behind Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges. The former Rockies backstop hit .176 in 76 Triple-A contests. Wilson is a former first-round pick of the Angels who never panned out with the Halos. The North Carolina State product earned his first big league look this year with Cleveland, batting .192/.267/.244 in 34 games.
Guardians Re-Sign Kolby Allard, Option Tim Herrin
The Guardians announced that they have re-signed left-hander Kolby Allard to a minor league deal and selected him to the big league roster. He had just elected free agency yesterday. Fellow lefty Tim Herrin has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus in a corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster had a couple of vacancies.
Allard was added to Cleveland’s roster in late April and spent a few months working as a long reliever. In 16 appearances, he logged 35 1/3 innings with a 2.55 earned run average. That ERA wasn’t sustainable. His 5.3% walk rate was strong but his 10.5% strikeout rate was tiny, the lowest in the majors this year among guys with at least 30 innings pitched. A 3.6% homer to fly ball rate helped him have an 80.9% strand rate. His 5.07 SIERA this year and his 5.59 career ERA suggested regression was likely.
The Guards designated him for assignment last week. He cleared waivers and, as mentioned, elected free agency. The Cleveland bullpen was heavily used in recent days. The played ten innings on Sunday and Tuesday, sandwiched around a regular nine-inning contest on Monday. Many of the pitchers in their bullpen pitched in two or even all three of those contests. Slade Cecconi starts tonight and Allard could perhaps pitch multiple innings in relief, sparing the bullpen from further exhaustion.
Herrin’s optional assignment is notable. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he tossed 93 1/3 innings for Cleveland with a 2.99 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate and 48% ground ball rate. He earned 17 holds in that time.
His results have backed up this year, more than his 3.99 ERA would suggest. His 21.2% strikeout rate is a few ticks below his prior work, as is his 40.3% ground ball rate. His walk rate, meanwhile, has shot up to 16.7%. If it weren’t for a .257 batting average on balls in play and an 80.4% strand rate, he would have allowed even more runs, with his 5.04 SIERA perhaps pointing to his true level of performance this year.
That seems to have put a big dent in his standing with the Guards. As mentioned, the club’s bullpen was heavily taxed in the past few days, with some guys pitching three games in a row. Meanwhile, Herrin hasn’t pitched since Saturday and is now being sent down despite being the freshest arm in the bunch. He’ll try to get back on track in Columbus and earn his way back to the big leagues.
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Kolby Allard Elects Free Agency
Left-hander Kolby Allard elected free agency after being waived by the Guardians, per the MLB.com transaction tracker. Cleveland had designated the former Atlanta first-round pick for assignment last week.
Allard spent a couple months on Cleveland’s big league roster. He signed an offseason minor league contract and was selected onto the MLB club in late April. The 27-year-old southpaw managed an impressive 2.55 earned run average in 35 1/3 innings as a low-leverage reliever. Allard’s 90.5 MPH average fastball speed made him one of the softest throwers in the league, however. His 10.5% strikeout rate ranks last among pitchers who have logged at least 30 frames, and he’s sixth from the bottom in swinging strikes.
The lack of whiffs had seemingly begun to catch up with Allard in recent weeks. He allowed at least one earned run in four of his last five appearances, with opponents batting .395 in that time. Neither the Guardians nor any other club believed in the sustainability of Allard’s season-long earned run average. He’s out of minor league options, so any claiming team would have needed to keep him on the big league roster.
Allard has appeared in parts of eight MLB seasons, posting a 5.59 ERA in a little more than 300 innings. He has been a starter for most of his minor league career but has had a tough time sticking in a big league rotation, more frequently working from the bullpen.
Guardians Designate Kolby Allard For Assignment
The Guardians designated left-hander Kolby Allard for assignment Thursday, per a team announcement. Between Allard’s DFA and right-hander Luis Ortiz‘s placement on paid administrative leave while he is the subject of a gambling investigation by the league, Cleveland needed to fill a pair of roster spots. They’ve recalled lefties Joey Cantillo and Doug Nikhazy from Triple-A to round out the staff. Cantillo will start tonight’s game in place of Ortiz.
Allard, 27, was a first-round pick by the Braves back in 2015. He ranked among Atlanta’s most promising young pitchers for several years but never established himself in the rotation there, in no small part due to a series of back injuries that limited his time on the field and impacted his production when he was able to take the mound.
Atlanta traded Allard to Texas in exchange for Chris Martin back in 2019, and he spent parts of four seasons struggling as an up-and-down member of the Rangers’ staff. He returned to the Braves in 2023 and spent 2024 with the Phillies, getting hit hard in both stops. By the time Cleveland signed Allard to a minor league deal this past offseason, he had a career 5.99 ERA in 272 innings.
On the surface, things have gone well for Allard in Cleveland. He’s pitched 35 1/3 innings, mostly in long relief, and posted a terrific 2.55 earned run average. That number doesn’t tell the whole story, however; Allard’s 10.5% strikeout rate is the lowest among the 318 pitchers who’ve tossed at least 30 innings in 2025. Entering the season, he’d seen nearly 16% of the fly-balls he’s allowed in his career land over the fence as home runs. He’s at just 3.6% in that regard this year, which seems bound to regress — as does his 81% strand rate (66% entering the season). Allard’s 3.60 FIP is more than a full run north of his actual ERA, and metrics like xFIP (5.19) and SIERA (5.07), which normalize that fluky home run rate, are even more bearish.
The Guardians will either trade Allard or place him on waivers within the next five days. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so he’ll know the outcome of his DFA within a week’s time. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, Allard will be able to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency — as is his right as a player who’s previously been outrighted in his career. Any team that takes a flier on Allard would be able to control him through the 2026 season via arbitration.
Guardians Select Kolby Allard
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 Sign Kolby Allard To Minor League Deal
The Guardians announced that they have signed left-hander Kolby Allard to a minor league deal. The Excel Sports Management client also receives an invite to big league spring training and will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.
Allard, 27, has appeared in the past seven major league seasons. He has spent most of that time as a swingman/depth starter, which was the case last year as well. He signed a one-year, $1MM deal with the Phillies, with the club frequently shuttling him between the majors and Triple-A. He made four starts and three relief appearances for the big league club, logging 27 innings. He allowed 15 earned runs for a flat ERA of 5.00.
The Phils could have retained Allard via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a modest raise to a $1.1MM salary. But the Phils outrighted him off the roster instead, perhaps due to the fact that Allard exhausted his final option year in 2024. He elected free agency after being outrighted, which allowed him to sign this deal with Cleveland. Including his stint with the Phils, Allard has now thrown 272 big league innings in his career. He has a 5.99 ERA, 18.9% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 38.3% ground ball rate.
The Guardians had the best bullpen in baseball last year but their rotation was uncharacteristically weak. They currently project to go into 2025 with a starting mix including Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, Luis Ortiz, Triston McKenzie and Slade Cecconi.
Bibee is a strong option but there are question marks with the rest. Lively posted a 3.81 ERA last year but with a tepid 18.7% strikeout rate. Cecconi, Ortiz and McKenzie have shown good flashes at times but with inconsistent results overall. Williams battled injuries in 2024 and had a 4.86 ERA over the 16 starts he was able to make. They will eventually have Shane Bieber in the mix, though he’ll surely start the season on the injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April.
Given the uncertainty in that group, adding some non-roster depth is a sensible add. As mentioned, Allard is now out of options, meaning he’ll have a tough time hanging onto a roster spot if he gets one, but there’s a possible path back to the majors with the lack of fully established starters currently penciled in.