The Guardians are officially into their offseason, and the front office has a clear lane to work: add pitching. After their AL Championship Series exit against the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland looks close enough to dream big, but still needs help from outside the organization to take the next step.
A swing at Tarik Skubal is not in the cards, so the smarter path may be the middle tier of free agency. And because the position-player group is already crowded, the clearest need is on the mound.
Two names fit that idea.
JoJo Romero brings exactly the kind of left-handed relief punch Cleveland can always use. The Brewers reliever has been excellent in the 2026 postseason, posting a 1.69 ERA across 5.1 innings in October. He’s allowed only one walk and punched out nine hitters.
That October work only adds to a solid career profile. Romero owns a 3.51 ERA over 249 major league innings, and he could be a real step up from the talented but inconsistent Tim Herrin.
He also finished the regular season strong, logging a 3.36 ERA between Milwaukee and the St. Louis Cardinals.
There will be plenty of competition for him, though. A pitcher with that track record and those 2026 results is going to draw interest. Still, Cleveland could have an edge if it can sell Romero on working with Carl Willis, the club’s strong coaching and player development staff, and a team that is always in the mix.
Kris Bubic is a different kind of fit, but just as interesting. The left-hander spent years hinting at more with the Kansas City Royals, and he delivered stretches that backed it up. From 2023 through 2025, he posted a 2.71 ERA in 162.2 innings and struck out 171 batters.
His 2026 season was a mixed one. Bubic had a 4.11 ERA in nine starts and 50.1 innings with Kansas City before landing with the Los Angeles Dodgers and throwing 4.2 scoreless bullpen innings. That versatility matters, especially for a Cleveland staff that could use another left-handed option.
The stuff is there, too. Bubic got whiffs at a 25 percent clip or better on four pitches this year: his four-seam fastball, changeup, slider and sweeper. The sticking point has always been health, and that’s the issue teams will have to weigh.
He is healthy right now, though, and at 29 he’s still young enough to be worth betting on. With Foster Griffin set to hit free agency, Bubic could fill a spot in the rotation.
If the Guardians prefer to use him differently, he has bullpen experience and could be a real weapon there as well. He likely won’t be expensive, but the injury history will determine how far a team is willing to go.
In Other News...
Guardians Bullpen Depth Just Took A Hit Fans Should Notice
Carlos Hernndez and Connor Brogdon are both back on the open market after electing free agency following their 2026 seasons with the Guardians. Each spent time moving between the big league roster and the clubs minor league affiliates, giving Cleveland some organizational flexibility without ever becoming central pieces of the bullpen plan.
For a team that always has to think a step ahead with its relief corps, losing two depth arms at once is the kind of small offseason wrinkle worth watching. The Guardians could still circle back and try to bring either pitcher back later in the winter, but for now the bullpen depth chart has a little less certainty than it did a day ago. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Already Have Tough Calls Waiting In Free Agency
Even with the season still unfolding, the Guardians already have a few roster questions lining up for the winter. Several players on the 40-man roster are set to hit free agency after the year, giving the front office another round of decisions to weigh as it looks ahead to 2026 and beyond. Among the names in that group are Foster Griffin, Austin Hedges, Nathaniel Lowe and Rhys Hoskins, a mix that touches both depth and more established production.
Each brings a different case to the table, which is what makes the conversation tricky. Cleveland will have to sort through recent performance, roster fit and whether any of those players make sense to bring back or let walk, and those calls could shape the makeup of the club well beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Face A Real Jo Adell Decision After Late Surge
Jo Adells brief run with the Guardians gave Cleveland enough to think about after deadline day, and it was not just the raw production. In 48 games with the club, he put together a .244/.324/.417 line with seven home runs and 32 RBIs, while also showing he could be useful against left-handed pitching during the regular season. For a team trying to piece together value wherever it can find it, that kind of late-season surge is exactly the sort of stretch that gets revisited once the calendar flips.
The bigger question now is whether that production is enough to justify what comes next. Adells postseason struggles did not help his case, and MLB Trade Rumors projects a significant salary jump in 2026, which puts Cleveland in the uncomfortable spot of weighing performance against cost. For a club that has to manage every roster decision carefully, the tender call could become one of those quiet offseason choices that says plenty about how the Guardians view him long term. [Read more 🡒]