The Guardians’ bullpen had little margin for error on Sunday, and by the end of the day that shortage of arms was impossible to ignore.
Cleveland entered the game already stretched thin after Slade Cecconi landed on the injured list Friday, which forced the club to lean on Franco Aleman for 44 pitches. Then starter Joey Cantillo gave the Guardians only one inning before the rain arrived and triggered a two hour and 23 minute delay. By the time play resumed, Tim Herrin had taken over in the second and the bullpen was staring at eight innings to get through.
That workload turned into a costly mess. Cleveland’s relievers couldn’t hold the lead in a loss that stung, and the club had to burn through six bullpen arms just to get to the finish.
The timing of Monday’s off day should help a little, but Sunday also put a brighter spotlight on the one move the Guardians did not make at the deadline: adding a proven big league reliever.
The only bullpen pickup Cleveland made was Craig Yoho, and his outing against the White Sox unraveled fast. Randal Grichuk tied the game with a double, then Colson Montgomery broke it open with a three-run homer.
Colson Montgomery puts the @WhiteSox ahead with a 3-run shot! pic.twitter.com/4XfvTpwbqO
- MLB (@MLB) August 9, 2026
Yoho had opened his time with the Guardians with two scoreless outings, but he’s been hit hard in his last two appearances, allowing seven runs over 1 1/3 innings. His changeup gives him real upside, and he could still grow into a steady piece of the Cleveland bullpen, but he’s got work ahead of him.
Beyond Yoho, the club’s only other bullpen-related move was a minor league deal with Ryan Borucki. Borucki has thrown two scoreless innings at Triple-A Columbus, but because he isn’t on the 40-man roster, Cleveland would have to clear more hurdles to get him onto the big league staff.
Cecconi had looked like another possible relief answer because he could cover multiple innings, but that experiment ended quickly. He made only two relief appearances before going on the 10-day injured list with arm fatigue, something Stephen Vogt appeared to connect to the move to the bullpen.
Chris Antonetti and the front office did well to strengthen the lineup and rotation, but the bullpen still looks like the hole that could matter most now.
The long-relief role is the biggest question. Will Dion had handled that job before being sent to the Nationals in the deal for Griffin, and Cecconi was supposed to help fill the gap until the injury stopped that plan almost immediately.
That left Aleman as the emergency answer on Friday, and his 44-pitch outing was the most he’s thrown in a major league game by a wide margin. Even so, he seems more suited to a single-inning role than that kind of heavy lift.
Triple-A does offer a few more possibilities in Logan Allen, Yorman Gómez and Austin Peterson, though Allen is the only one of the three with big league experience. All three have worked as starters for Columbus this season.
The Guardians got help where they targeted it at the deadline, but their lack of bullpen reinforcements is now hanging over the roster. If that part of the team doesn’t get sorted out, it could be the move that ends up costing them the season.
In Other News...
Guardians May Already Regret What Will Dion Is Showing In Washington
Will Dions quick start in Washington is the kind of return the Guardians had to hope would not come back to sting them after the trade deadline. Sent from Cleveland to the Nationals, the left-hander has already made two appearances for his new club, and his early work has been steady enough to put him on the radar almost immediately as a useful addition rather than just a throw-in on a deadline deal.
Washingtons staff is already talking like there may be more there than a fresh arm. Dion has shown enough polish for manager Blake Butera to point to the quality of his stuff and the way it plays against both right-handed and left-handed hitters, which is exactly the sort of profile that can travel well in a bullpen or swing role. For Cleveland, that only adds to the uneasy feeling that this one might age better in D.C. than it does back home. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen Vogt Sends Blunt Message As Guardians Pitching Slump Grows
Stephen Vogt has been leaning on the Guardians pitching staff to reset its approach after a recent rise in walks has added to an already shaky stretch. The clubs manager said the issue looks less like a mechanical breakdown and more like a mentality problem, with pitchers pressing, trying to do too much, and losing some confidence along the way. In response, the coaching staff gathered the group for a clubhouse conversation aimed at slowing things down and getting everyone back to the identity that had helped the staff function earlier in the season.
It comes at a tough time for Cleveland, which is still sitting below .500 and trying to find some stability before opening a series against the Tigers. The next few days will matter not just for the standings, but for how the rotation and bullpen carry themselves under pressure, because the margin for error is thinning. Vogts message was blunt for a reason: the Guardians do not have the luxury of letting free passes keep piling up while the rest of the game keeps asking more of them. [Read more 🡒]