The Guardians’ rotation looked like a strength for most of the season. Right now, it looks worn down at the worst possible moment.
That became impossible to ignore Wednesday night in Baltimore, when Foster Griffin breezed through the first two innings and then got hit with a third-inning avalanche. Six batters were retired to start the game, he issued one walk, and everything seemed under control. Then the Orioles sent 12 hitters to the plate, scored eight runs, and turned a promising start into the worst single inning Cleveland had allowed all year.
Beat reporters Paul Hoynes and Joe Noga, hosts of the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, saw the outing as part of a larger issue.
“Earlier this year with the idea sort of looming that once we got to September, some of these young pitchers had the possibility of running out of gas. You’re seeing that with Foster Griffin, you’re seeing that with Joey Cantillo to an extent. Parker Messick, they’re, being very careful with because they want him to remain physically intact, but also, he’s, he’s starting to wear down,” Noga said.
That concern isn’t limited to one bad inning. Hoynes pointed to Tanner Bibee’s earlier start against the same Baltimore lineup, which followed a strikingly similar path: smooth early work, then trouble once the Orioles got a second look at him. Whether the issue is fatigue, better scouting, or both, the trend is hard to miss.
Griffin, technically still a rookie at 31 after years in Korea, has already thrown more innings this year than at any point in his career. That context matters when judging how much one rough outing should say about him. It also fits the bigger picture of a staff that’s beginning to fray.
The Guardians also chose not to use a six-man rotation this September, unlike last year, and that decision is now under the microscope. Noga said, “That’s why last year when they went to the six man rotation, it was such a benefit. It helped keep these guys fresh and it’s just not the case this year,” Noga said.
The club explained its choice by pointing to September’s uneven schedule and the built-in off days. But with Griffin fading, and Cantillo and Messick showing signs of wear, that reasoning doesn’t make the current stretch any easier to navigate.
It leaves Stephen Vogt in a tough spot when a game gets away early. Pull a starter in the third inning while already trailing 8-2, and the bullpen gets dragged into a mess no manager wants.
Hoynes put it this way: “Do you chase a win? How badly do you chase that win?
It’s only the third inning and you’re already down 8-2. That’s a tough spot for a manager to be in.”
With 15 games left and a wild-card spot to protect, the Guardians don’t have much margin left. The challenge now is simple to say and hard to solve: keep the rotation standing long enough to get to the finish.
In Other News...
Guardians Farm System Has A New Long Term Prospect Question
The Guardians kept most of their premium young talent out of the trade market at the deadline, dealing only one top-30 prospect in Jacob Cozart and leaving the rest of the system largely intact. For now, the headliners remain Angel Genao, Ralphy Velazquez and Braylon Doughty, a group that should be pushing toward Cleveland soon enough to keep the organizations long-term pipeline in view.
What makes the farm more interesting from here is the next wave, and Juneiker Caceres is the name drawing the most outside attention. The Venezuelan prospect has been moving quickly through High-A and Single-A while showing the kind of natural ability that has evaluators projecting him as the systems best prospect by 2028, which gives the Guardians another potential cornerstone to track even as the current class inches closer to the majors. [Read more 🡒]
Steven Kwans Future Just Became A Real Guardians Offseason Issue
Steven Kwan has become one of the more interesting names attached to Clevelands offseason, and not because his play has suddenly slipped off a cliff. The two-time All-Star still brings the kind of on-base presence and defensive value the Guardians have long prized, even if some of the counting numbers have dipped this season. But with only one year left on his contract and no reported extension talks, his future has moved from a simple roster question to a bigger organizational decision.
Around the league, that combination is enough to fuel speculation that Cleveland could at least listen on Kwan this winter if it means landing younger, controllable talent in return. For a Guardians team that has built around cost control and timing, the calculus is tricky: keep a productive regular for another run, or cash in before the contract clock gets even shorter. However it plays out, Kwan is shaping up to be one of the defining storylines of the offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Reliever Hits Another Brutal Setback In Lost Development Run
Andrew Walters latest setback puts another hard stop on what had already become a stop-and-start development path for the Guardians right-hander. After missing significant time since June 2025 because of injuries, including lat muscle surgery, Walters now has gone through right UCL repair surgery with an internal brace, a procedure that typically comes with a 10-12 month recovery window.
For Cleveland, the bigger concern is not just the lost season, but the lost runway. Walters had already been fighting to get back on track before the most recent injury in 2026, and even with a normal rehab timeline, a return to MLB action now appears unlikely until 2028. [Read more 🡒]