Cade Smith’s rise has gone from breakout to full-blown recognition, and Wednesday night brought one more line on an already crowded resume. The Cleveland Guardians closer was named to Major League Baseball’s All-MLB team, earning Second Team honors among the sport’s top relievers.
Smith has already stacked up plenty of hardware this season. He was named an All-Star, became an AL Reliever of the Year finalist and picked up the Cleveland writers’ Bob Feller Man of the Year award. Now he’s added another major nod to a year that has put him firmly on the map.
“RHP Cade Smith receives Second Team All MLB honors,” Cleveland Guardians posted.
The numbers explain the praise. Smith finished 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP across 69 appearances, piling up 107 strikeouts in 74 innings.
His 41 saves matched for the most in the American League, and he became just the seventh pitcher in franchise history to hit 40 saves in a season. He also posted 2.9 WAR, a huge figure for a reliever.
He was even sharper when the pressure climbed. In September, while Cleveland was chasing down the White Sox for the AL Central title, Smith appeared in 11 of the team’s 25 games and didn’t allow a run all month.
Opponents managed only a .073 average against him. He stayed dangerous in October, too, striking out 14 batters over 11 1/3 postseason innings and earning a four-out save in Game 3 of the ALCS.
The strikeout stuff has followed him from the beginning. Smith has now reached 100 strikeouts in each of his first three big league seasons, and only Boston’s Dick Radatz has done that while working exclusively in relief.
Over three seasons, Smith has put together a 2.26 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP and 314 strikeouts in 223 innings. His splitter has become one of the nastiest pitches in baseball.
His route to this point makes the recognition hit a little harder. Smith grew up in Abbotsford, British Columbia, was drafted by the Minnesota Twins out of high school in 2017 and chose the University of Hawaii instead.
He went unselected in the 2020 draft, when it was cut to five rounds, and Cleveland signed him as a free agent. He was the final player to make the Opening Day roster in 2024, then struck out five over two hitless innings in his major league debut against Oakland.
Now 27, Smith has become one of the game’s most valuable relievers, and his next payday is coming. He’s eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter and remains under team control through 2029, giving Cleveland more years with a closer who has become the backbone of the bullpen.
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For the Guardians, the fit is easy to see. They have room to add to the relief group and have been looking for depth that can soak up meaningful innings, especially from the left side. Hill is also being pursued by the Yankees, Mets, Giants and Dodgers, which suggests this could turn into a broader market for a pitcher who still has value even if he is no longer at his peak. [Read more 🡒]