The Guardians have already taken a small hit to their pitching depth before the offseason really gets rolling.
Carlos Hernández and Connor Brogdon both elected free agency on Thursday after finishing the season in the minors as non-40-man players. That timing made them eligible to make the move even though the 2026 MLB season technically isn’t over yet.
Neither pitcher was expected to be a major piece of the Guardians’ 2026 plans, and it’s fair to wonder whether either had much of a long-term path in Cleveland anyway. Still, losing both removes two experienced arms from the organization at a moment when pitching depth could matter a lot.
Brogdon’s year with the Guardians started with a spot on the Opening Day roster after he signed for $900,000 in the offseason. That stay didn’t last long. He was designated for assignment after posting a 5.28 ERA in 15 1/3 innings, then spent two months at the team’s Arizona Complex before moving on to Triple-A.
He spent a little more than a month with the Clippers and then got another unexpected look in Cleveland near the end of September, when the Guardians were dealing with their final wave of pitching injuries. Brogdon made one appearance for the big-league club before being DFA’d again.
Hernández’s path was even more turbulent. He re-signed on a minor league deal last offseason, but began the year on the injured list after fracturing his right leg and left arm in a car crash in Venezuela over the winter.
He finally got back on a mound in July in the Arizona Complex League, then landed with the Guardians for about 72 hours at the start of September after rosters expanded. In that brief stint, he gave up one run in three innings before being DFA’d and finishing the season with the Clippers.
For all of that, the impact here is more about depth than anything else. Cleveland may not have counted on either pitcher for much, but both were useful emergency options, especially with the possibility that pitchers return from the lockout a little sore or banged up after working on their own.
That’s where the concern comes in. If a couple arms show up to spring training less than fully ready, Hernández and Brogdon would have been handy candidates to soak up innings.
The Guardians can still bring either pitcher back later in the offseason if they want to, and that remains on the table. As depth bets go, there are certainly worse ones.
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Steven Kwans place in Cleveland has become one of the more interesting questions of the Guardians offseason. He is heading into the final year of his club control, and his projected arbitration salary for 2027 is expected to top $11 million, putting the front office in a spot where it has to weigh the value of keeping a reliable, high-contact, defensively sound outfielder against the realities of a roster that still needs more punch.
Kwan gave Cleveland plenty to think about with a strong second half in 2026 and a Gold Glove finalist nod in center field, but that has not quieted the speculation around him. The Guardians have to decide whether to explore an extension, ride out his remaining control, or use his name as a trade chip while teams know he is getting closer to free agency and the market for versatile outfield help remains strong. [Read more 🡒]
Former Guardians Are Driving Another Brutal October What-If
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For Cleveland, the sting is not just that these former Guardians are still playing deep into the fall, but that they are doing it in two different dugouts with real responsibility attached. Bauers has been a factor for the Brewers, and the Rays group has given this series another layer of Cleveland-related familiarity, the sort that can turn a national stage into an unexpected what-if. The Guardians are left watching a postseason shaped, at least in part, by players they once called their own. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Fans Can Finally See The Ralphy Velazquez Timeline
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Paul Hoynes laid out the likely path from here, and it sounds familiar for a player Cleveland wants to develop carefully rather than rush. Velazquez has typically needed some adjustment time after each promotion, so the more realistic expectation is that he could begin 2027 back in Triple-A before working his way to Cleveland later in the year. The Guardians are clearly aiming higher than just getting him to the majors, too, since they want him to be ready to step in as an above-average starter before they make the move. [Read more 🡒]