Breathe. The regular season is done, the postseason is here, and the Guardians have a bye week in hand.
That alone would be enough to make the week feel pretty good, but Cleveland doubled up on the good news. On Thursday, the Guardians punched their ticket to October for the third straight season with a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Angel Martínez provided the only run the club needed, sending a 79 mph changeup from Ranger Suarez into the right-field seats. The rest of the night belonged to a bullpen group that pieced together a two-hit effort from Daniel Espino, Joey Cantillo, Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski, and Cade Smith to seal the one-run victory and the postseason berth.
Then came Saturday, when the Guardians wrapped up the American League Central in a game that turned fast. The Kansas City Royals jumped out to an early three-run lead, but Cleveland answered right away with four runs in the second inning.
The Guards finished the job with a four-run ninth and closed out the division title. That means a first-round bye and a matchup with the winner of the Wild Card series.
There was more organizational success on the prospect front, too. Cooper Ingle, the Guardians’ number four prospect, was named the International League MVP by Minor League Baseball on Saturday.
He put together a big season at Triple-A, hitting 20 home runs and leading the league with a .952 OPS. He also finished in the top five in runs with 85, walks with 86, batting average at .297, and BABIP at .362.
His brief time with the major league club this year was far less productive. In 21 at bats, Ingle hit .095/.208/.095. Still, after nearly a full season of Triple-A reps, he’ll head into 2027 with a chance to build on this breakout and try to carry that momentum into a fresh start six months from now.
And there was even a small gesture of gratitude from the fan base after the Guardians got help elsewhere. Two home runs from catcher Hunter Goodman helped the Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago White Sox on Saturday, a result that secured the AL Central for Cleveland.
Fans responded by flooding Twitter with appreciation, especially user @GuardsJoey, who quoted the Rockies’ win graphic and asked if they could set up a GoFundMe for Goodman’s favorite charity. Goodman chose Kids of Denver, a group that provides school clothing for children in Denver, and by Sunday fans had donated $2,500 to the cause.
In Other News...
Guardians Have A Few Forgotten Names Who Could Crash Clevelands 2027 Plans
The Guardians are heading into the American League Division Series with the kind of roster fans know well, but the organizations long view is shaped by a few names farther down the depth chart. Right-hander Ben Lively has worked his way back from Tommy John surgery and pitched effectively in Triple-A, while Cooper Ingle has added value by moving between catcher and the outfield, giving Cleveland another flexible option to track.
Kahlil Watson is another player worth keeping an eye on as the club maps out its next wave. The young outfielder put together a strong minor league season and has already had a brief taste of the majors, which is enough to keep him in the conversation as Cleveland looks ahead to 2027 and beyond. For a team that has made a habit of finding contributors in unexpected places, these are the kinds of forgotten names that can quickly become part of the picture. [Read more 🡒]
Gavin Williams Just Gave Cleveland A Huge Reason To Believe
Gavin Williams spent the regular season giving Cleveland a front-line arm to lean on, and the numbers backed up what the Guardians saw every fifth day. He led the American League with 248 strikeouts, finished 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over 32 starts, and outpaced both Dylan Cease and Cam Schlittler in the strikeout race.
The encouraging part for Cleveland is that Williams did not fade as the schedule wore on. He sharpened in September, trimming his ERA and missing more bats while the Guardians were fighting for a playoff push, which only added to the sense that he was settling into the role they had been waiting for. For a club that has spent a lot of time searching for reliable rotation anchors, Williams just made the long view a little easier to picture. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Trade Deadline Looks Smarter As October Reality Hits Phillies
As Cleveland waits to make its postseason roster official, the early read on the clubs deadline work is encouraging. Nathaniel Lowe, Jo Adell and Foster Griffin are all expected to be included, giving the Guardians a chance to lean on the reinforcements they added when the market opened up.
Philadelphia offered a sharper contrast by unveiling its National League Wild Card Series roster without any of its deadline pickups, Caleb Kilian, Brooks Raley and Luis Arraez. Injuries have kept Kilian and Arraez out, while Raley was left off after a difficult stretch, a reminder that deadline deals can look good in July and much different by October. [Read more 🡒]