The Guardians are changing just one name on their ALCS roster, but it says plenty about how Cleveland plans to handle this next round.
After surviving the White Sox in five bruising ALDS games, the Guardians announced Monday that pitcher Slade Cecconi is in and utilityman Daniel Schneeman is out as they prepare for Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Our roster for the American League Championship Series is set. PITCHERS: Shawn Armstrong, Tanner Bibee, Joey Cantillo, Slade Cecconi, Daniel Espino, Matt Festa, Hunter Gaddis, Foster Griffin, Tim Herrin, Parker Messick, Erik Sabrowski, Cade Smith, Gavin Williams.
OUTFIELDERS: Jo Adell, Chase DeLauter, Petey Halpin, Steven Kwan, Angel Martinez. INFIELDERS: Travis Bazzana, David Fry, Angel Genao, Nathaniel Lowe, Jose Ramirez, Brayan Rocchio,” the Guardians posted.
The move adds another arm after Cleveland leaned hard on its pitching staff to get through the White Sox. The Guardians used 11 pitchers across the five-game series, and eight of them worked at least two innings. Matt Festa was the only pitcher on the ALDS roster who never got into a game.
That workload makes the roster tweak easy to understand. A longer series against Tampa Bay could demand more innings from the bullpen, and Cecconi gives Cleveland another option there after not being part of the ALDS group.
Schneeman, meanwhile, was never used in the series against Chicago. He didn’t get a plate appearance or a defensive inning, as Stephen Vogt stuck mostly with his regular lineup.
Petey Halpin started Game 5 instead of Angel Martinez, who had been struggling, and both Halpin and Angel Genao were used at times as defensive replacements. That left little room for Schneeman this round.
Cecconi’s season also helps explain why he’s back in the mix. He made 21 starts for Cleveland, but his role shifted after the club acquired Foster Griffin from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline. Cecconi’s final seven appearances all came in relief, and over those outings he posted a 5.93 ERA with 11 hits, four walks, three home runs and 15 strikeouts in 13.2 innings.
Now he’s available again, and Cleveland is betting on depth as it tries to get back to the World Series for the first time since 2016.
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Guardians Face One ALCS Roster Choice That Could Shape This Series
With a seven-game battle against the Rays looming, Stephen Vogt is weighing one of those postseason roster calls that can quietly shape everything that follows. The Guardians are looking at whether to keep a deeper bench of position players or trim back toward a more traditional split between pitchers and hitters, a decision made more complicated by the grind of a long series and the need to cover every inning carefully.
Daniel Schneemanns spot is part of the conversation as the club searches for more right-handed punch, while the pitching side brings its own option if Cleveland wants another arm that can bridge multiple innings. Vogt does not have the luxury of treating this as a marginal choice, either, because the roster balance can affect late-game matchups, pinch-hit flexibility and how aggressively the Guardians can manage their bullpen over the next week. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Enter ALCS With One Huge Pitching Question
The American League Championship Series opens tomorrow in Tampa, and the matchup between the Rays and Guardians brings together two clubs built on pitching depth. Tampa Bay already has its Game 1 plan in place with Drew Rasmussen set to take the ball, while Cleveland is still sorting through its options after a five-game Division Series against the White Sox.
For the Guardians, the biggest decision is still hanging over the start of the series, and it could shape how they line up the rest of the rotation. Parker Messick, Gavin Williams, Foster Griffin, Joey Cantillo and Tanner Bibee are all in the mix as Cleveland works through its choice, a reminder that even at this stage of October, the margin for error starts with the first pitch. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Are Handing Game 1 To An Unexpected Arm
The Guardians are turning to an unexpected arm as the American League Championship Series opens, with Foster Griffin lined up to take the ball after emerging from a strong relief role in the Division Series. Cleveland liked what it saw from him in that matchup, where he gave the club an important lift out of the bullpen and quickly became one of the more interesting postseason stories on the roster.
Griffin is also one of the few Cleveland pitchers who wasnt leaned on heavily in the previous series, which gives the staff a fresh option at a time when every inning matters. Hell be working on normal rest, and the decision says plenty about how the Guardians are approaching Game 1 against Tampa Bay as they try to get the tone of the series right from the start. [Read more 🡒]