Cleveland’s bullpen has started to look like a strength again, and Erik Sabrowski is a big reason why.
That wasn’t the case for a while. After being diagnosed with left elbow inflammation in late May and landing on the injured list, Sabrowski had to sit until June 19.
He had been lights-out before the injury, carrying a 1.71 ERA that sat among the best marks in the American League. But once he returned, the rhythm was off.
From June 19 through July 31, he worked just 10 innings and posted an ugly 8.10 ERA, walking nine and striking out 13. He was fighting his command, and the results showed it.
For a reliever who can get the ball up near triple digits, that kind of reset takes time. The body needs to catch up.
The problem is that baseball doesn’t wait around, especially when you’re pitching for a contender with little margin for error. Some fans lost patience.
Now, though, Sabrowski looks like himself again.
Since the start of August, the left-hander has not given up an earned run. Over 11.1 innings in that stretch, he’s thrown up a 0.00 ERA with four walks and 15 strikeouts. On Friday, he was huge for Cleveland, firing two scoreless innings and helping keep the game close long enough for the offense to rally and beat the Detroit Tigers with a walk-off win.
If Sabrowski took heat in June and July for not being the dependable bullpen arm Cleveland needed, he’s answering it now.
And he’s not doing it alone. The Guardians’ relief corps is humming at the moment, with Cade Smith, Daniel Espino, Hunter Gaddis, Matt Festa and others all pitching well alongside Sabrowski. If that keeps going, Cleveland’s going to be a tough team to handle, and its offense won’t have to carry quite as much of the load.
In Other News...
Guardians Trade Fans Hated Suddenly Looks A Little Different
Earlier this year, the Guardians moved on from Nolan Jones in a deal that seemed to close the book on his place in Clevelands future. Tyler Freeman went the other way to the Rockies as part of that swap, giving the Guardians a new piece while also underscoring just how quickly the front office was willing to shift directions on a player who had once been part of the organizations longer-term picture.
Now Freemans path has taken another turn, and it does not point toward a clean rebound. He was outrighted off Colorados roster and sent to Triple-A Albuquerque after a stretch that fell short of expectations, a move that makes his road back to the majors look far more complicated. It also suggests the Guardians may eventually see the trade framed less as a simple exchange of pieces and more as one side trying to move on before the market for either player changed again. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Face A Bigger Progressive Field Question
Progressive Field has been the Guardians home since 1994, and the ballpark has already gone through recent renovations to keep pace with a changing game and a changing city. Even so, it still sits as MLBs 10th-oldest stadium, a reminder that even a well-kept park can start to feel like yesterdays solution when the rest of the league keeps talking about what comes next.
That bigger-picture conversation is where the temperature starts to rise. Analyst Zachary D. Rymer recently floated Cleveland as a possible future candidate for a new stadium, a notion that would have seemed far-fetched not long ago but now fits into a league where only two new parks have opened in the past two decades. For the Guardians, the question is less about what Progressive Field is today than how long it can remain the right answer in a sport where new venues are still a rarity. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Have A Chase DeLauter Concern They Cant Ignore
Chase DeLauters recent stretch on the sideline has started to look less like a routine breather and more like something the Guardians have to monitor closely. The outfielder is out of the starting lineup against the Orioles because of a wrist sprain suffered on a swing in a previous game, and manager Stephen Vogt has already framed the situation as day-to-day while putting DeLauters health first.
For a Cleveland club that has leaned on DeLauter as one of its key bats this season, the timing matters. He has now missed four straight games, and while the hope is obviously that the injury settles quickly, wrist issues can linger in ways that make even the next appearance worth watching. [Read more 🡒]