Joey Cantillo has given the Guardians plenty this season, but the workload is starting to look like the bigger story.
The left-hander has logged 148 innings across 31 appearances, including 30 starts, and has put together a 3.89 ERA while holding down a spot in Cleveland’s rotation all year. But after Saturday’s unusual setup against the Minnesota Twins, there’s a real case to be made that the Guardians should ease off a little.
Daniel Espino opened the game and worked two scoreless innings. Franco Aleman followed, and then Cantillo came in behind them and delivered four scoreless frames with eight strikeouts. It was Cantillo’s lone relief outing of the season, and it showed how effective he can be in a shorter burst.
Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes said the Guardians ought to consider giving him a break after such a big jump in usage.
“Cantillo was scheduled to start Saturday against the Twins, but rookie Daniel Espino is filling (filled) in an opener’s role. I think we have to give Cantillo a break.
He’s already made 30 starts this season. His career high before this season was 13.
That’s a big jump in workload, and his control may have suffered,” Hoynes wrote.
That’s the heart of it: Cantillo has already blown past his previous career high in starts, and the gap is enormous. Before this year, his high was 13 starts. Now he’s at 30, and his 148 innings are 52.2 frames beyond anything he had done before.
The Guardians have choices if they want to manage that load. Cantillo could keep working behind an opener, or he could slide into a multi-inning relief role when the matchup calls for it.
A full-time bullpen move is also on the table, especially since he has handled that job before. Last year, he posted a 3.21 ERA in 34 games, with only 13 starts.
Cleveland also has other arms it can turn to. Ben Lively is pitching well in Triple-A, while Logan Allen and Slade Cecconi are also options to fill a rotation spot.
Cantillo may still be the best answer, even with an opener in front of him, but the Guardians need to keep one eye on the calendar. If everything breaks right, they’ll need him for another month after September, and his second-half line - a 4.60 ERA with clear control issues - is another reason to be careful.
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For Cleveland, the timing is hardly ideal as it tries to keep moving forward with a young player whose upside is easy to see but whose body has not given him much uninterrupted time. The team has not announced any additional tests or treatment plans, and DeLauter is considered day-to-day for now, leaving the Guardians to wait and hope this is only a brief pause rather than another longer detour. [Read more 🡒]