Sunday, March 22

Welcome back to the Guardians Beat newsletter. My name is Tim Stebbins, and I'm heading into my second season covering Cleveland for MLB.com. 

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- In one of his earliest conversations with Guardians teammates upon rejoining them following his World Baseball Classic experience, Matt Festa relayed he’s looking to buy a Lavazza espresso machine to have in Cleveland’s bullpen this season.

Festa pitched for Team Italy at the Classic this year, and among their numerous Italian-themed celebrations, the players would take a shot of espresso in the dugout after one of them hit a home run.

“[I’m a] big espresso guy, big coffee guy. I'm way too caffeinated all the time,” Festa said. “I'm going to buy [a Lavazza machine] for the guys, and hopefully get some of that magic into our bullpen as well.”

Magic permeated Team Italy during the World Baseball Classic this year; the Italians were the talk of the tournament. The fun-loving group bonded over their shared backgrounds while making a surprise run to the semifinals.

Italy went 4-0 in pool play, which included a stunning 8-6 win over Team USA, before it punched its ticket to the quarterfinals with a 9-1 win over Mexico. Team Italy went on to beat Puerto Rico, 8-6, to advance to the semifinals -- where it fell to eventual champion Venezuela, 4-2. 

Though they came up just short, Team Italy’s impact was far-reaching. Thanks to their incredible run and endearing energy, the WBC reached millions of viewers across Italy and was the talk of the country’s newspapers. Festa even noted his Instagram comments have lately been full of comments written in Italian. 

“We knew that going into pools, we were written off already," Festa said. "But what we accomplished was we kind of grew the game overseas in Italy."

Festa threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in Italy’s 7-4 win over Great Britain during pool play. He allowed four runs across his next two outings, against Team USA and Puerto Rico. But overall, the right-hander noted the tournament was a great way to prepare for the regular season. He equated the atmosphere during Team Italy’s matchup against Venezuela to that of a postseason game.

Festa was the Everyday Man for the Guardians last season. He didn’t make his Cleveland debut until May 2, but finished third on the team in appearances (63) while recording a 4.12 ERA, a 3.14 FIP and a 1.08 WHIP.

“It was crazy, it was so loud,” Festa said of the matchup vs. Venezuela at Miami's loanDepot park. “But my body feels good. I threw a couple times there, threw on one-day's rest. So I’m well built up.”

Festa will look to bring his dependability back to the Guardians’ relief corps this season. Maybe the espresso machine will catch on in Cleveland, or another celebration. 

Team Italy’s espresso machine (which is now up for auction) was just one of the fun-loving aspects of its squad. Players would add a decal of their jersey number to the machine after hitting a home run. They would get a double kiss on the cheek with their shot of espresso, and don a blue celebratory jacket after going deep.

If it wasn’t clear, Festa and Team Italy had a lot of fun. 

“The double-cheek kiss was a little addition,” Festa said. “I loved that. That was so much fun. We just had fun out there. We love each other. We were brothers."

• The Guardians' starting rotation is set after Parker Messick secured a spot and Logan Allen was optioned to Triple-A Columbus. Read more >>

• Saturday was a big day for Travis Bazzana and Jace LaViolette, the Guardians' two most recent first-round Draft picks. Read more >>

• After a last-minute scratch in 2025, Tanner Bibee earned a second opportunity at his first career Opening Day start this year. Read more >>

• Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz will remain on non-disciplinary leave until further notice, though it will shift from paid to unpaid. Read more >>

• With Nolan Jones being outrighted to Triple-A Columbus on Friday, the Guardians’ outfield picture came more into focus. Read more >>

“He went through a lot last year from the beginning of the year, with missing Opening Day, signing an extension, not getting off to a great start, up and down year. But for him to stabilize, lock in and become our ace again down the stretch [was huge]. I think for Tanner, peace of mind that he's healthy, peace of mind that he knows he can do it, all of those things play into a great offseason and roll into a spring like we're watching. For Tanner to take the ball and lead our guys out on Opening Day, I think we're all really excited for him.” -- Stephen Vogt, on Bibee

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