The Cleveland Guardians still have a clear priority as the trade deadline approaches: they need help in the lineup, probably a bat or two. But on Friday, they quietly chipped away at another issue that could have forced them into a more expensive move later.
Cleveland signed left-handed reliever Ryan Borucki to a minor league contract, a low-cost pickup that fits the Guardians’ usual style. It may not turn heads, but it gives them another arm and could reduce the pressure to chase bullpen depth in a bigger deal.
Borucki began the season with the San Francisco Giants and posted a 4.94 ERA in 23 2/3 innings before being designated for assignment at the end of May. He chose free agency a week later and had remained available until Cleveland stepped in.
His profile is pretty specific. In today’s three-batter minimum game, he’s as close to a LOOGY as it gets.
Left-handed hitters managed only a .550 OPS against him, while right-handed hitters posted a 1.085 OPS. He struck out 14.4% of the batters he faced, the lowest rate of his career by a wide margin, and walked 8.7%.
Even with those numbers, Borucki brings a real big league track record. He broke through with Toronto in 2018 with a 3.87 ERA over 97 2/3 innings, though arm injuries limited him in 2019 and 2021. Since then, he’s moved around the league, and in 2023 he turned in an above-average season with the Pirates, finishing with a 2.45 ERA in 40 1/3 innings.
The Guardians’ pitching lab always makes these kinds of moves worth watching. Whenever they bring in a pitcher, there’s at least a chance they can unlock something more.
Borucki was only given a minor league deal, but it feels likely he’ll get a shot in Cleveland before long. Tim Herrin and Erik Sabrowski are the club’s top left-handed relief options, though both have cooled off after strong starts. Borucki could also slide in as a replacement for Will Dion, who has appeared in 10 games this season and has mostly worked in mop-up duty.
He may not arrive as a high-leverage weapon right away, but his ability to handle lefties gives Stephen Vogt another useful option to mix and match.
And that’s where this signing matters beyond the roster spot itself. Borucki isn’t A.J.
Minter - the Twins gave up two prospects to land him yesterday - but he is a useful, affordable addition Cleveland got without giving anything up. That kind of move can narrow the Guardians’ deadline shopping list in a hurry.
In Other News...
One Catcher Trade Just Changed Everything For Bo Naylor
A catcher trade between Baltimore and Detroit may have quietly shifted the market around the Guardians Bo Naylor. The Orioles sent pitching prospect Zane Barnhart to the Tigers for Jake Rogers, a catcher who had recently been designated for assignment, and Baltimore made the move because it needed help behind the plate after injuries thinned that group out. Even with Rogers carrying a low batting average, the price still suggests clubs are willing to pay for catching help when the options get scarce.
For Cleveland, that matters because Naylor has been floated as a possible deadline trade candidate, and the recent activity only underscores how thin and active the catching market has become. The Guardians have kept him on the 40-man roster for the past two months, but if teams are already parting with prospects for a catcher in Rogers situation, it could give Cleveland a better shot at finding a meaningful return rather than settling for a lighter move. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Just Made The Deadline Move Guardians Fans Will Hate
The Twins just gave themselves a bullpen jolt at a time when the race around the division is tightening, and it is the kind of move that tends to land hardest in Cleveland. Minnesota added a proven late-inning arm with a strong track record this season, paying with two infield prospects to get a reliever who should help stabilize a unit that has been looking for answers.
For Guardians fans, the irritation is obvious because this is the sort of upgrade that fits a contender trying to keep pace in September, and it could force Cleveland to keep one eye on its own bullpen plans as the deadline picture keeps shifting. There are still questions around what Minnesota is getting long term and whether more moves are coming elsewhere in the division, but for now the Twins have clearly made the kind of addition that changes the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians May Need One Uncomfortable Yankees Trade To Fix The Outfield
The Guardians outfield remains one of the roster questions that could shape the rest of the season, and it is the kind of issue that can push a front office into uncomfortable territory. Cleveland has shown a willingness to think creatively when a need lines up with a market opportunity, and the Yankees have two young outfielders whose talent still makes them intriguing even if the production has not always matched the upside.
Spencer Jones and Jasson Domnguez both fit the profile of players who could tempt a team looking for ceiling over certainty, but acquiring either one would almost certainly require giving up real value in return. That is where Clevelands farm system enters the conversation, with one prospect in particular standing out as the sort of piece New York could view as a fit for more than one spot on the diamond. The question now is whether the Guardians are willing to pay that price to solve an outfield problem that has lingered long enough to demand a serious answer. [Read more 🡒]