The Guardians are at it again.
Cleveland opened the General Manager meetings by adding left-hander Antoine Kelly on a minor league deal for 2027, with an invitation to big league spring training. It’s not a splashy move, and it probably won’t dominate the headlines coming out of the meetings, but it fits the exact mold the Guardians have leaned on so often: low-risk, pitching-depth business.
The contract gives Cleveland a clean shot to work with Kelly in its pitching lab without using a roster spot. It also leaves room for him to pitch in the minors in 2027 if the expected lockout cuts into the regular season.
Kelly’s path to this point has been a winding one. The Brewers drafted him in the second round in 2019, and he didn’t get a real run in the minors until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. That season was rough - he posted a 9.78 ERA in 19 1/3 innings - but he bounced back enough in 2022 to earn a trip to the Futures Game as Milwaukee’s representative.
From there, the journeyman stretch began. Milwaukee dealt Kelly to the Rangers in the Matt Bush trade, and Texas put him on its 40-man roster before the 2024 season to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He never really settled in, though, and the Rangers designated him for assignment in the middle of the year after he struggled at Triple-A Round Rock.
Kelly then had minor league stops with the Rockies and Dodgers before the Cubs traded for him last June and quickly added him to their 40-man roster. He made his lone big league appearance with Chicago on June 31, threw a scoreless inning, and later got designated for assignment before finishing the year in the Cubs’ Triple-A system.
Now he gets another crack, this time in Cleveland.
There’s at least a path for him to break camp with the Guardians if spring training unfolds normally, and the appeal is obvious. Kelly missed bats in the minors last season, finishing with a 23.7 strikeout rate, even if the 16.7% walk rate came with it. His mix is straightforward: a 96 mile per hour sinker and an above-average slider, the same combination that worked in his brief big league look with the Cubs.
Cleveland may have one or two bullpen openings depending on what happens with Tim Herrin and Matt Festra in arbitration and what the front office does on the trade market. In that context, Kelly is exactly the kind of “no harm, no foul” addition the Guardians love to make - the sort of move that can quietly strengthen a staff without costing much at all.
In Other News...
Guardians Deadline Moves Just Got The Recognition Cleveland Fans Wanted
The Guardians deadline shopping spree is getting the kind of after-the-fact validation Cleveland fans usually have to wait for. The Athletic ranked several of the teams moves among the top 30 deadline deals, with starting pitcher Foster Griffin, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and outfielder Jo Adell all drawing notice for the ways they helped shape the 2026 season.
Griffins postseason work stood out on the mound, Lowe brought timely hitting and steady defense, and Adell gave the lineup a needed jolt with key offensive moments in October, including a pair of triples in the playoffs. For a front office that took real swings at the deadline, the recognition serves as a reminder that these were not just headline-grabbing additions, but moves that actually mattered when the games got bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Clevelands Two Breakout Pitchers Are Suddenly In National Award Spotlight
Cade Smith and Parker Messick gave Cleveland plenty to celebrate beyond the standings this season, and now both pitchers are drawing national attention for it. Smith was honored with the Bob Feller Man of the Year Award and has also emerged as a finalist for the inaugural BBWAA Reliever of the Year award, while Messick picked up the Frank Gibbons-Steve Olin Good Guy Award after earning a reputation not just for his work on the mound, but for the way he handled the media and the day-to-day demands that come with a breakout year.
For a club that has long valued pitching depth and professionalism, the recognition fits the profile of both players. Smiths rise has turned him into one of the more notable relief arms in the league, and Messicks strong season has put him in the conversation for AL Rookie of the Year. The awards underscore how quickly both have moved from promising pieces to names with real league-wide weight, even if the bigger question now is how far each can carry that momentum from here. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Could Face A Tough Young Talent Decision This Winter
The General Manager meetings this week will kick off the unofficial start of the hot stove season, and the Guardians already have a few names that figure to circulate in trade chatter. Cooper Ingle, Hunter Gaddis and Daniel Schneemann are all the kind of younger pieces other clubs like to ask about, especially when a front office is trying to balance present needs with long-term depth.
Steven Kwan is likely to draw the loudest speculation, though, simply because his looming free agency makes him an obvious talking point around the league. For Cleveland, the question is less about whether rumors will follow and more about how aggressively it wants to listen if rival clubs start calling on a player who has become central to the rosters identity. [Read more 🡒]