Hunter

Gaddis

Gaddis, like pretty much every pitcher placed on the 15-day IL prior to the start of the season, will be eligible to return on Apr. 6. He’s been on the shelf since the beginning of the month due to forearm tightness.

Gaddis opens the year on the shelf after suffering a forearm strain in early March that didn’t progress as quickly as initially hoped. The 27-year-old righty has been a workhorse for Cleveland over the past two seasons, racking up a staggering 151 relief appearances during that span.

Gaddis is dealing with tightness in his forearm and while he has shown improvement, it’s going to take him longer than a couple of weeks to build back up before he’s able to help out the Guardians’ bullpen. Valera has been battling a mild left calf strain and isn’t expected to be shelved for long, but being ready for Opening Day looks unlikely at this stage.

Gaddis wasn’t feeling right after his spring debut Friday, but since tests on his arm came back negative, he still might have a chance of being ready for Opening Day. The very reliable Gaddis pitched in 78 games for the Guardians in 2024 and 73 last year. He hasn’t missed any time with injury as a major leaguer.

Cade Smith had this one off after pitching the previous two days (and four games in a row, with Monday’s off day mixed in). Gaddis was making his fourth appearance in six days, as the Guardians have worked their best relievers hard to grind out some of these wins. Smith should be back out there in a save situation on Friday.

Gaddis needed only to retire Mark Vientos after coming in with a three-run lead, one man on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He was the obvious choice to come in after Cade Smith threw 22 pitches in a win Monday and 17 pitches in a save Tuesday.

Cade Smith had the day off after pitching two innings and getting a win Friday. Gaddis has allowed one run in his last 8 1/3 innings, dropping his ERA to 3.30. He should remain the primary fallback to Smith in Cleveland.

Smith got the call for Cleveland’s first save opportunity since Emmanuel Clase was placed on paid leave through August 31 amid a league investigation into sports gambling. It didn’t go well. The 26-year-old righty was tasked with protecting a one-run lead in the ninth inning and immediately served up a ground-rule double to Warming Bernabel, who came around to score the tying run on ensuing batter Brenton Doyle’s bunt single. He was pulled from the contest a couple batters later after coughing up a go-ahead RBI single to Tyler Freeman. It wouldn’t be shocking if Guardians manager Stephen Vogt turned to Hunter Gaddis for the next save chance.

Passan reports that this is “tied into the investigation” involving Luis Ortiz. Obviously, this shuts down the possibility of a trade involving Clase. Cade Smith probably takes over as the favorite for saves in Cleveland and should be picked up everywhere, though it’s possible the Guardians, who might be more motivated to sell without Clase, could trade him prior to the deadline. Hunter Gaddis could also be in the mix for saves.

Gaddis rejoins Cleveland’s bullpen for Tuesday’s showdown against the Dodgers after being away from the club for exactly three games. The 27-year-old righty has been stellar this season in a high-leverage role for the Guardians, recording a sparkling 0.86 ERA across 21 innings (23 appearances).