Welcome back to the Guardians Beat newsletter. My name is Tim Stebbins, and this is my first season covering Cleveland for MLB.com. |
CLEVELAND -- The Guardians fortified their bullpen over the offseason, on the heels of its dominant 2024 season, by signing Paul Sewald and Jakob Junis to one-year deals. In the first few weeks of the ‘25 campaign, the right-handers have proven to be savvy additions. Sewald and Junis have emerged as key contributors to manager Stephen Vogt’s bullpen as experienced veterans who are capable of pitching in a variety of situations. Entering Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Sewald is tied with Cade Smith for the team lead in appearances (nine), with Junis closely behind (eight). Sewald has recorded a 3.38 ERA, allowing three earned runs on six hits over eight innings, with one walk and 11 strikeouts. Junis has thrown eight scoreless innings while scattering six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. The Guardians’ bullpen was a driving force behind their run to the ALCS last fall, when the group’s 2.57 ERA led the Majors. Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, Smith and Tim Herrin each made at least 70 appearances. While they remain key cogs to the staff, Sewald and Junis have deepened it and given Vogt additional options in the middle and late innings. |
Cleveland’s bullpen collectively is off to another strong start, ranking fourth in the Majors with a 2.58 ERA.
“Paul gives us another leverage late-inning pitcher with experience in doing that as a closer,” Vogt said. “And with Junis, the versatility of being able to pitch leverage and length [is valuable]. Their skill in itself adds so much to the bullpen, but the people [do] as well.”
Sewald, who’s in his ninth Major League season, has 85 career saves on his resume and won the World Series with the D-backs in 2023. The 34-year-old has pitched in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and 10th innings for Cleveland. He recorded a save in the 10th of the Guardians’ 8-7 win over the Royals on Opening Day. |
The Guardians value the experience Sewald brings on the mound, as someone who’s proven in late-game situations, as well as his ability to rub off on younger members of the bullpen. “Paul Sewald is a leader,” Vogt said. “He's been through a lot of different things. He knows his routine. For a young bullpen, being able to have Paul Sewald show by example what it looks like to be a successful reliever is huge.” Junis is in his ninth big league season, during which he’s made 200 appearances, including 116 starts. Vogt recalled how one of the first things the 32-year-old expressed to him after signing with the Guardians on Feb. 16 was a willingness to contribute however he is needed. |
Junis has pitched in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings and he’s capable of going multiple frames.
“He's just a great person,” Vogt said. “He loves his family and he loves to pitch, and he just wants the ball. … To have those two guys amongst our young bullpen, it's huge.”
|
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
|
|
One of the young arms in the bullpen whom Sewald and Junis can rub off on is lefty Joey Cantillo. The 25-year-old made the Guardians’ Opening Day roster as a reliever, after mostly starting in his professional career before this season.
“Everyone's got a good feel of what they're doing,” Cantillo said. “And the older guys do a good job of helping me out and making sure I know when to do this and that. It's just one of those things you kind of just piece together the more you do it.” Cantillo made three postseason appearances out of the bullpen last year, and he has made 18 in the Minors, so he has some experience to fall back on. Doing it in the Majors exclusively, as he is now, is obviously still a transition, but he appears to be settling in. Cantillo allowed five runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts through his first two appearances, and he gave up a home run on Tuesday night in mop-up duty vs. the Orioles, but his three appearances in between were excellent. During that span, he threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing two hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts. |
Cantillo has a four-pitch arsenal featuring a four-seam fastball, changeup, curveball and slider. When he’s attacking the strike zone, his stuff plays. He struck out four and didn’t allow a baserunner over two innings on Sunday vs. the Royals. “I just think when I'm throwing well, I'm executing fastballs in the zone,” Cantillo said. “And when I'm not executing fastballs in the zone, I'm making it a lot harder for me to pitch. So just knowing that and being, ‘OK, I'm going to be aggressive with this pitch in the zone and then let all my offspeeds play from there." “We've been working on some things, and it’s good to get ahead of guys like that and get through some outings.” |
• Angel Martínez has made the most of his newfound opportunity after being called up a week ago. More >> • Take a look at each team’s best promotional giveaway for the 2025 season. More >> • First baseman C.J. Kayfus (the Guardians’ No. 8 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) is off to a stellar start with Double-A Akron. More >> |
Calling up pups, grads and Penguins. The Guardians are holding a series of theme nights during their next homestand, when they will host the Yankees (April 21-23) and Red Sox (April 25-27). With the purchase of a specific theme night ticket, fans will receive a limited edition promotional item. • April 22 -- Bark in the Park: Guardians dog toy (note: purchase of human and dog ticket required)
• April 25 -- Grad Party Night: Guardians Class of 2025 hat featuring a tassel
• April 25: Youngstown State Night: Co-branded Guardians and Penguins cap
More information on Guardians theme nights is available here.
|
|
|
FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW |
To subscribe to Guardians Beat, visit this page and mark "Guardians Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Guardians or that they're checked as your favorite team. |
|
|
|
