Cleveland Guardians Spring Training Prospect Report 2/22/25

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Justin Lada

Feb 23

Scoreboard

Cincinnati Reds 6, Cleveland Guardians 3

Notables

Milan Tolentino (2B): 1-2, 3B, K - Tolentino had the best day of any prospect in this game with a triple in the ninth inning off Reds minor league pitcher Sam Benschoter. He struck out at the hands of Bryan Shaw in this one in his other at bat, for good measure.

Zak Kent (RP): IP, BB, K - Kent threw 15 pitches in his outing and touched 94, Sat 93. It’s a short, first outing of the year. Kent had a fastball that used to hit a little higher in the past and it fell off with injuries. Keep an eye on Kent, who was a decent prospect at one time and the Guardians swapped international money to get him last year.

Mason Hickman (RP): IP, H - Hickman pitched a scoreless fifth inning and averaged 92 with his fastball. Hickman has been 88-90 in the past so this is at least interesting to start. A better fastball would make Hickman a more interesting reliever with his slider and curve as he also mixes in other pitches.

Petey Halpin (CF): 1-1 - In his first at bat on the 40 man roster, Halpin hit a 104 MPH single off former Akron teammate, Lenny Torres Jr.

Yordys Valdes (SS): 0-1, RBI, K -Valdez’s sac fly in the ninth drove in the third run of the game.

Micah Pries (1B): 1-2, K - Pries struck out in his first at bat, but singled in the ninth off former Guardians minor leaguer, and Columbus teammate, Ian Gibaut.

Johnathan Rodriguez (RF): 0-1, BB - Rodriguez faced Bryan Shaw in his first at bat of 2025 and drew a walk, then hit a 105 MPH groundout vs. former teammate Lenny Torres Jr.

Nick Mikolajchak (RP): 0.1IP - Mikolajchak got one out finishing up Luis Frias’ rough outing. He just threw one of every pitch and hit 93. Before his TJ surgery, Mikolajchak was 94-96 with good stuff. We’ll see if he starts to find the velocity again. He was one of the org’s best relief prospect before then.

Tanner Burns (RP): IP, K - The 2020 first rounder needed just 11 pitches to finish off the seventh inning in order. His fastball averaged 94, which was a slight tick above last season’s average and he got one swing and miss all day.

Also Played

Dayan Frias (3B): 0-1

Kody Huff (C): 0-1

Jake Anchia (DH): 0-1

Kahlil Watson (LF): 0-1

Did Not Play

OF Jorge Burgos

INF Jose Devers

C Kevin Rivas

RHP Magnus Ellerts

RHP Zane Morehouse

LHP Steven Perez

RHP Carter Spive

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Here's the Guardians lineup:

Kwan LF
Brennan RF
Freeman CF
Manzardo 1B
Naylor DH
Schneemann SS
Brito 2B
Nunez C
Wilson, W. 3B
Lively SP

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Gavin Williams' transformative offseason: Weight loss, workouts, and a revived fastball

Published: Feb. 23, 2025, 4:28 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Is there life after death? Such decisions are better left for a higher power.

But can life be restored to a fastball?

Manager Stephen Vogt is a believer. This spring he’s pointing to Gavin Williams as an example.

Last year Williams went 3-10 with a 4.66 ERA in 16 starts for the Guardians. Cleveland’s No. 1 pick in 2021, pitched only 75 innings after opening the season on the injured list with a sore right elbow.

“You have to establish your fastball,” said Vogt. “Last year the life on Gavin’s fastball wasn’t there. We’d see 97 and 98 mph, but the life wasn’t there and major league hitters can hit velocity.”

Life on a fastball means movement. When Williams' fastball is right, it rides up on a hitter. Vogt has seen that ride returning for Williams.

“His vertical metrics are getting back to where he wants them,” said Vogt.

Williams agreed with Vogt about his lost fastball.

“I didn’t have my fastball last year,” he said. “I felt I was just searching for so much stuff pitch wise and with my delivery. I think at times I got frustrated with myself and tried not to show it.

“I was trying to compete, but it wasn’t working out the way I wanted.”

Over the winter, Williams went to Florida to train with his agent Scott Boras' strength and conditioning coaches at his facility near Miami. The 6-6 right-hander lost 15 to 17 pounds and now weighs 255 pounds.

He said the decision to lose weight was a mutual agreement between the Guardians and himself.

“It was just learning how to eat better — when to eat and what to eat," said Williams. “My workout plan was very extensive this offseason.”

Williams spent a lot of time with Guardians' pitching coach Carl Willis as well.

“Carl lives about 20 minutes from me,” said Williams, who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. “I threw at NC State some and at Duke University some. He’d come watch me at both places.”

The two worked on the shape of Williams' pitches.

The four-seam fastball is Williams' best pitch. He threw it over 50% of the time last year at an average of 96.6 mph, according to Statcast. The opposition, however, hit .288 against it.

Williams is expecting better results this season.

“You can say I have a special fastball,” he said. " My velo has good vert (vertical ride) to it. So when I get that working, all my pitches play off that.

“The hitters are trying to eliminate the heater, and if they can’t get to the heater, they’ll sit on the other pitches and leave the heater alone.”

Williams also throws a curveball, cut fastball, changeup and a sinker that he’s using a new grip on.

Last year Williams made two good starts in spring training before injuring his elbow in a weighted ball drill. It was the start to a long season.

“I wouldn’t say the injury set me back, I was just playing catchup the whole time,” said Williams. “Just trying to figure out little things here and there. I couldn’t get in a groove.”

This is Vogt’s second season managing the Guardians.

“I’m still getting to know Gavin,” said Vogt. “I didn’t get to see very much of him last year.

“I see a very different Gavin this year. He’s more talkative. It took him a little while to get going last year because he missed the first part of the season. He never really found the best version of himself last year.”

Williams, like most players, has set goals for 2025. He’ll keep them to himself for the time being, but one of them certainly involves making the starting rotation.

The Guardians have 34 pitchers in camp. That includes Shane Bieber, John Means, Sam Hentges and Trevor Stephen, who will open the season in the injured list.

The point is they went out of their way to create more competition in the rotation and bullpen.

“I feel like we’re deep right now,” said Vogt. “That’s something we didn’t have last spring ... I really like the quality of our depth.”

Williams will make his first Cactus League start on Wednesday against Texas.

“A lot of people pulled their weight last year, except myself,” said Williams. “ I had a lot of short outings. I need to go deeper into games, especially to help our bullpen out. They covered a lot of innings when I pitched. I’ve got to step up in my role.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1893716927115338037

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Steven Kwan leads three-homer parade as Guardians trounce Angels, 14-2

Published: Feb. 23, 2025, 6:30 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The Guardians hit three home runs and received two innings each from Ben Lively, Kolby Allard and Doug Nikhazy as they thumped the Angels on Sunday, 14-2, in a Cactus League game at Goodyear Ballpark.

Steven Kwan and prospects Joe Lampe and C.J. Kayfus homered in Cleveland’s second game of the spring. Kwan homered to start a four-run third-inning that pushed Cleveland’s lead to 6-1.

Lampe and Kayfus, promoted for the day from Cleveland’s depth camp, hit consecutive homers to start the fifth.

The Guardians minor leaguers had eight of the Guardians ' 13 hits and scored six of their 14 runs.

“We two-flapped them,” said manager Stephen Vogt, referring to the double-ear flapped batting helmets minor leagues have to wear.

Lively started the game and allowed one run on five hits in two innings. He allowed a first-pitch double to Scott Kingery to start the game and two-out RBI single to Matthew Lugo to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.

Kwan started the bottom of the first with a single off lefty Reid Detmers. Tyler Freeman doubled him home with one out. Bo Naylor’s bloop single to center gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead.

Right fielder Will Brennan made the defensive play of the game in the second inning. Brennan, after catching Tim Anderson’s fly ball, threw out Yolmer Sanchez, who tried to advance from second to third. The double play ended the inning.

After Kwan’s homer in the third, the Guardians added three more runs. Brennan walked and scored on a wild pitch. Freeman walked and scored on an error by left fielder Matthew Lugo. Kyle Manzardo singled, took second on a wild pitch, third on Lugo’s error and scored on a ground ball.

The Guardians closed the game with a five-run eighth inning that featured five walks.

Kwan was the only Guardian with two hits.

“Typical Kwanie game,” said Vogt. “He opens with a single to left and then hits a mistake out of the ballpark.”

Next: The Guardians travel Salt River Fields to play the Diamondbacks on Monday at 3:05 p.m. LHP Joey Cantillo is scheduled to face RHP Zac Gallen.

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Cleveland Guardians Spring Training Prospect Report 2/23/25

Scoreboard

Cleveland Guardians 14, Los Angeles Angels 2

Notable Performances:

CJ Kayfus (Backup 1B): 1-for-1, R, HR, RBI, 2 BBs - Kayfus’ fifth-inning homerun would have cleared the wall in all 30 major league ballparks (403 feet) and was the second hardest-hit ball of the game at 108.2 mph off the bat. His seventh and eighth inning walks allowed the 23-year-old to reach base in all three plate appearances in his first spring action.

Angel Genao (Backup SS): 2-for-2, R, RBI, BB - Genao would do the same as Kayfus in reaching base three times, however he did it with a pair of singles and a walk. His run scoring single in the eighth had an expected batting average of just .130, but it was enough to get the job done on this occasion.

Cooper Ingle (Backup C): 2-for-2, 2 RBIs, BB - The final man in the lineup to reach in all three plate appearances was Cooper Ingle. After a fantastic 2024 season, he now enters 2025 on the right foot with an RBI single, a bases loaded walk and a base hit where Kayfus was thrown out at home trying to score.

Joe Lampe (Backup CF): 1-for-3, 2 R, HR, RBI - Just before Kayfus lifted a homerun in the fifth, Lampe did the same as the batter previous. He got every stitch of the homerun ball that traveled 443 feet and was tracked at 105.4 mph off the bat. It was the farthest hit ball in all of major league spring training on Sunday.

Jorge Burgos (Backup LF): 1-for-2, R, RBI - Burgos made the most of his opportunity with a runner in scoring position and drove in Devers with an RBI single.

Jose Devers (Backup 3B): 1-for-3, R, 2B, GIDP - The aforementioned Devers led off the bottom of the eighth with a double, his lone hit of the contest in three at-bats.

Doug Nikhazy (RP): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BBs, 2 Ks - In his first spring training appearance, Nikhazy was able to get through two innings in the minimum six batters with a pair of K’s on his ledger. All three of his whiffs came on off-speed pitches (two sliders, one curveball).

Jack Leftwich (RP): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 2 Ks - Leftwich retired two of his four batters faced on strikes - both of which swinging. He struggled a touch with command with a walk and some of his out pitches were not even close.

Andrew Misiaszek (RP): 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, 2 BBs, 2 Ks - Misiaszek gave up a hit and then walked the bases loaded with one out, but battled back and got two punchouts to end the inning unscathed. He recorded six whiffs on the slider, his most used pitch (15-of-28).

Also Played:

Juan Brito (Starting 2B): 0-for-2, DP

Travis Bazzana (Backup 2B): 0-for-2, RBI, BB, 2 Ks

Justin Boyd (Backup RF): 0-for-1, BB, K

Jacob Cozart (PH-DH): 0-for-1, R, RBI, BB, K

Will Wilson (Starting 3B): 0-for-2, K, DP

Magnus Ellerts (RP): 0.2 IP, 0 H, R, 2 BBs, K

Zane Morehouse (RP): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BBs, 0 Ks

Did Not Play:

RHP Zach Jacobs

LHP Steven Perez

RHP Carter Spivey

C Logun Clark

INF Dayan Frias

OF Khalil Watson

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Guardians catcher hit in the head by pitch; forced to leave game

Updated: Feb. 24, 2025, 6:55 p.m.|Published: Feb. 24, 2025, 6:22 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — With two out in the ninth inning Monday, Guardians catcher Dom Núñez was hit in the back of the batting helmet by a 96 mph fastball from Arizona’s Conor Grammes.

Núñez fell to the ground and stayed there for several minutes holding his head. A Guardians trainer tended to him as manager Stephen Vogt looked on.

After a while Núñez sat up and eventually got to his feet. He was placed on a cart and driven off the field as the crowd of over 6,000 at Salt River Fields applauded.

“That is not the way you want to see at the end of a game,” said Vogt, following s 4-3 Cactus League loss to the Diamondbacks.

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Like birds of a feather, Luis Ortiz finds perfect place to roost with Guardians

Updated: Feb. 24, 2025, 7:00 p.m.|Published: Feb. 24, 2025, 6:33 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Luis Ortiz is fitting in just fine with the Guardians.

In the Dominican Republic, he lives three minutes from Cleveland’s All-Star third baseman José Ramírez and has been playing baseball with Jhonkensy Noel since they were kids.

He has also been talking chickens with closer Emmanuel Clase, who is located a few lockers down from him in the Guardians' spring training clubhouse.

The other day, Clase was FaceTiming with someone on his farm in the Dominican Republic. The sound of roosters crowing and chickens clucking could be heard throughout the locker room as Ortiz looked on.

Ortiz is a fan of barnyard birds as well.

“I’m a big fan of that as a hobby and entertainment,” said Ortiz through interpreter Agustin Rivero. “Sometimes we get together and talk about our animals. I’m really passionate about that.”

So Ortiz wasn’t walking into a room full of strangers when he arrived in Goodyear for spring training.

“You still have things to prove,” said Ortiz. “But it’s good to have somebody I can rely on. I know he (Ramírez) vouches for me and speaks highly of me.”

The Guardians traded for Ortiz at the winter meetings in December. They acquired him and two minor league pitchers from the Pirates for infielder Spencer Horwitz.

On the same night the trade was completed, Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, told reporters Ortiz owned a spot in the rotation.

“I was super happy for the opportunity,” said Ortiz. “That shows they believe in my work. The mindset right away is they want to win. The goal is to win the World Series, and that’s what we’re working to achieve.”

Ortiz arrived in Goodyear on Jan. 7 to work with Cleveland’s pitching group.

“His stuff is real,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “The fastball and curveball are good. He’s a fun person to be around. He’s always smiling.”

Ortiz makes his first Cactus League start of the spring on Tuesday against Milwaukee at Goodyear Ballpark.

The Pirates signed Ortiz when he was 18. Throughout his minor league career, they used him as a starter. He remained in the rotation in his first two years in the big leagues as well.

Last year, however, the Pirates moved him to the bullpen to open the season. He made 21 relief appearances before the Pirates moved him back into the rotation on June 26 against the Reds. He responded by allowing one run over six innings with seven strikeouts.

In his final 16 appearances of the year, Ortiz made 15 starts. He went 4-4 with a 3.22 earned-run average as a starter with 67 strikeouts and 24 walks in 86 2/3 innings.

“I was really happy when they put me back in the rotation,” said Ortiz, 6-2 and 235 pounds, “because I know my role is as a starter. When they gave me an opportunity as a reliever, I took it, but I told them I was going to put in the work and do my best to be a starter.”

The Guardians showed no hesitation in adding Ortiz, 26, to a rotation that staggered through much of last season.

Ortiz throws a slider, four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter and changeup. He was an equal-opportunity pitcher last season, throwing his slider 26.8% of the time followed by his four-seamer at 26.7%, sinker 25.9% and cutter 19.7%, according to Statcast.

The opposition hit .203 against the slider, .187 against the four-seamer, .237 against the sinker and .273 against the cutter. He threw only 20 changeups last season.

“I just keep working on all my pitches,” said Ortiz. “On a weekly basis, I see how my bullpens are going and what pitches I need to keep working on.”

The Guardians rotation is far from set. The first three spots could go to Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively and Ortiz. The next two are wide open with Joey Cantillo, who threw two scoreless innings Monday against Arizona; Gavin Williams; Triston McKenzie; Logan Allen; Slade Cecconi; Doug Nikhazy; and Vince Velasquez among the candidates.

Who knows what the rotation will look like come opening day on March 27 or when the regular season ends? Ortiz, however, is glad to be a Guardian.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about how the Guardians develop pitchers from people in the industry,” said Ortiz. “It’s exciting for me because I know it’s going to help me develop myself as a pitcher.”

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Guardians fall to Arizona, 4-3, despite strong performance by Joey Cantillo

Updated: Feb. 24, 2025, 7:30 p.m.|Published: Feb. 24, 2025, 7:22 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. ― The Guardians received two scoreless innings from Joey Cantillo and home runs from Gabriel Arias and Kyle Manzardo on Monday, but it wasn’t enough as Arizona scored three times in the fifth inning for a 4-3 Cactus League win at Salt River Fields.

Cantillo, competing for a roster spot, struck out three and allowed one hit in his first start of the spring.

Arias, competing for the second base job, gave Cantillo an early 1-0 lead with a two-out homer in the first off Zac Gallen.

Manzardo made it 3-0 with a two-out homer in the fourth following a walk by Austin Hedges. The inning could have been bigger, but Jhonkensy Noel was thrown out trying to steal after reaching on a single.

The Diamondbacks started to work their way back into the game against former teammate Slade Cecconi. After a scoreless third by Cecconi, Corbin Carroll hit a leadoff homer in the fourth against him to make it a 3-1 game.

Cecconi worked his way through the rest of the inning without incident.

“I thought Slade threw the ball well,” said manager Stephen Vogt.

The Guardians acquired Cecconi in the Josh Naylor trade in December. Naylor, who played Sunday for Arizona, did not play against his former team on Monday.

Cleveland’s Andrew Walters started the fifth and found immediate trouble. He walked Garrett Hampton and allowed a single to Jorge Barrosa to start the inning.

Walters struck out Ketel Marte, but walked Carroll to load the bases. Zach Jacobs relieved Walters, and Lourdes Gurriel greeted him with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2. Eugenio Suarez followed with a three-run double for the final margin of victory.

“I thought Joey was great,” said Vogt. “He filled up the strike zone really well. He really attacked them.”

Vogt said Cantillo and Slade are in the mix for a rotation spot.

Arias had a single in the Cactus League opener on Saturday and a homer on Monday. The versatile Arias hasn’t spent a lot of time at second base, but Vogt doesn’t seem concerned.

“The thing about Gabby is wherever you put him, he’s going to be one of the best defenders at that spot.” said Vogt. “Gabby is going to continue to get looks at a bunch of different places and second base is one of them.”

The Guardians are 1-2 this spring.

Next: Milwaukee visits Goodyear Ballpark on Tuesday to play the Guards. RHP Luis Ortiz will start for Cleveland, while RHP Jacob Misiorowski starts for the Brewers. Game time is 3:05 p.m. CLEGuardians.TV will carry the game.

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A New Potential Bullpen Gem Is Emerging For Guardians

February 24, 2025

By Andres Chavez

The Cleveland Guardians are known for being a relievers factory.

They produce so much talent at the position that they traded Nick Sandlin and Eli Morgan and their depth chart didn’t even feel it.

The staple of the Guardians as an organization is that no matter how good the names in the MLB bullpen are, they just keep on producing quality relievers.

On Sunday, we witnessed one name to watch for 2025 or 2026 when it comes to the bullpen: Magnus Ellerts.

The 2022 11th-round draft pick had a dominant 2024 in which he posted a 2.91 ERA in 55.2 frames between High-A and Double-A.

Ellerts took the mound on Sunday against the Angels and the results say he wasn’t particularly impressive, as he conceded a run on two walks while getting just two outs.

Exhibition games allow us to analyze more than the box score, though: we can focus on skills and future potential, and Ellerts has loads of both.

The Cleveland Guardians are known for being a relievers factory.

They produce so much talent at the position that they traded Nick Sandlin and Eli Morgan and their depth chart didn’t even feel it.

The staple of the Guardians as an organization is that no matter how good the names in the MLB bullpen are, they just keep on producing quality relievers.

On Sunday, we witnessed one name to watch for 2025 or 2026 when it comes to the bullpen: Magnus Ellerts.

The 2022 11th-round draft pick had a dominant 2024 in which he posted a 2.91 ERA in 55.2 frames between High-A and Double-A.

Ellerts took the mound on Sunday against the Angels and the results say he wasn’t particularly impressive, as he conceded a run on two walks while getting just two outs.

Exhibition games allow us to analyze more than the box score, though: we can focus on skills and future potential, and Ellerts has loads of both.

His fastball velocity, as Guardians Prospective illustrates, is already close to elite.

Cleveland #Guardians top pitching velocities vs the Angels

Magnus Ellerts (4-Seam Fastball) 97.2
Magnus Ellerts (4-Seam Fastball) 97.0
Magnus Ellerts (4-Seam Fastball) 96.4
Magnus Ellerts (4-Seam Fastball) 96.1
Magnus Ellerts (4-Seam Fastball) 95.8
Magnus Ellerts (Cutter) 95.8

He also has other weapons in his arsenal: excellent extension that makes his stuff more effective, a beautiful mid-90s cutter, and a solid slider.

The cutter already has solid velocity, sudden glove-side movement, and elements that invite us to think the pitch can be a weapon against MLB hitters right now.

With Ellerts, everything will come down to command and control.

His walk rate in Lake County was a less-than-ideal 13.9 percent.

He managed to lower it to 10.3 percent in Akron, but still needs more progress in that area.

n pitching style and stuff, Ellerts looks a lot like Emmanuel Clase.

He is obviously light years away from showing the consistency and overall excellence that the All-Star closer demonstrates every year.

The sky is the limit if Ellerts can improve his control, though.

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Guardians Pitching Prospect Puts On A Clinic During Spring Game

February 24, 2025

By Andres Chavez

Making the Cleveland Guardians’ Opening Day pitching staff has to be one of the hardest missions in baseball at the moment.

The bullpen is elite, arguably the best in the league.

The rotation is not as great, but it’s a competitive unit with several young stars and lots of upside.

Even with that being the case, left-handed pitching prospect Doug Nikhazy is a man on a mission.

At 25 years old and having posted a 3.17 ERA in Double-A and a 2.87 mark in the hitting-friendly Triple-A last year, the time for him to break through and make the roster is now.

He is off to a fantastic start in the Cactus League due to his impressive outing on Sunday.

“Cleveland #Guardians 25yr old LHP prospect Doug Nikhazy made his spring debut Sunday vs the Angels tossing two scoreless innings striking out a pair of batters. Line – 2.0(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 2SO (21 Pitches 14 Strikes),” Guardians Prospective posted on X.

It was just two innings, which isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things.

However, he looked impressive on the mound, facing six batters and retiring them all.

He closed out his outing with strikeouts to Niko Lavadas and Matthew Lugo.

Nikhazy has some work to do with his control, although that isn’t a major problem.

On Sunday, however, he looked fantastic and threw 14 strikes in 21 pitches.

All his pitches were effective.

Tougher tests will await in the spring as lineups start getting more MLB players back and ramping up for the season ahead, but Nikhazy is trying to let the organization know that he is available, determined, and hungry.

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Magnus Ellerts has a long way to go to establish himself as a Bullpen Gem! Evidenced by two walks in his first outing. Some writers cannot think of anything to write among during spring training.

Nikhazy did pitch well yesterday and did pitch well last season. He had had trouble with command but improved greatly. Still not a hard thrower so his ceiling is no better than back of the rotation or bullpen, but he is a potential for the big leagues this year or later.

Luis Ortiz struggles, Travis Bazzana homers in Guardians' 9-6 loss to Brewers

Updated: Feb. 25, 2025, 7:22 p.m.|Published: Feb. 25, 2025, 6:55 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Luis Ortiz’s first game in a Cleveland uniform could have gone better.

Ortiz allowed six runs on six hits in 1 1/3 innings Tuesday as the Guardians fell to the Brewers, 9-6, at Goodyear Ballpark.

Travis Bazzana, last year’s No. 1 overall pick in the draft, supplied half the Guardians' runs on a three-run homer with two out in the ninth.

The Guardians were held to five hits, but did draw 11 walks. They turned five of those walks into runs, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Brewers.

The Guardians acquired Ortiz from Pittsburgh in a trade at the winter meetings in December. They wanted a young, affordable starter to help a rotation that struggled last season.

Jake Bauers, who played for Cleveland in 2019 and 2021, hit a three-run homer off Ortiz with two out in the first for a 3-0 lead.

Ortiz retired the first batter he faced in the second, but loaded the bases on singles by Andruw Monasterio, Brewer Hickman and Caleb Durbin. Cooper Pratt unloaded them with a three-run double to left for a 6-2 lead.

Right-hander Nick Mikolajchak relieved Ortiz and ended the inning without further damage.

Ortiz allowed six runs on six hits in 1 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out one.

“He was falling behind in the count,” said manager Stephen Vogt, when asked about Ortiz. “His stuff looked pretty good. His (lack of) strike throwing got him into some bad counts, but there was good life on his stuff.”

Cleveland responded to Bauers' three-run homer in its half of the first. The Guardians loaded the bases with two outs on walks by Jose Ramirez, Lane Thomas and Bo Naylor. Tyler Freeman singled off Bauers' glove at first base to score Ramirez and Naylor.

The Guardians have seven regulars from last season in Tuesday’s starting lineup, but they couldn’t do much outside the two-run first inning. Prospect Brandon Ingle’s bases-loaded walk in the eighth and Bazzana’s homer in the ninth accounted for the rest of Cleveland’s runs.

Vogt was happy with the 11 walks.

“We’ve been making really good swing decisions all spring,” said Vogt. “I’ve been pleased with our at-bats as a whole. Maybe we’re not getting the hits and results when we put the ball in play, but I feel like we’re swinging at the right pitches and we’re taking the ones we should.”

Vince Velasquez, a non-roster invitee, followed Ortiz in his first appearance of the spring. In two innings he allowed one run on one hit and three walks.

Velasquez missed all of last season with Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. The Guardians brought him to camp to add depth to the starting rotation.

Next: Texas will start RHP Nathan Eovaldi (0-0, 9.00) vs. RHP Gavin Williams (first start) Wednesday at Goodyear Ballpark at 3:05 p.m. ET.

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https://www.mlb.com/video/travis-bazzan ... st-popular

BAZANNA 3 RUN HOMER

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Fast start for Gavin Williams, but Guardians suffer 7-4 spring training loss to Rangers

Published: Feb. 26, 2025, 5:39 p.m.

By Joe Noga, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Manager Stephen Vogt said he was looking forward to watching Gavin Williams get on the mound and compete in his spring training debut. Williams, he said, put in a lot of work during the offseason to regain his dominant fastball after struggling through an injury-plagued 2024 campaign.

Whatever changes Williams made appear to have worked out rather nicely.

The 25-year-old was sensational over two innings as the Guardians dropped a 7-4 exhibition game to the Rangers on Wednesday at Goodyear Ballpark.

Vogt told reporters earlier in the week that last season Williams' fastball did not show the sort of life it had in the past once he finally made it back to the big league club following an elbow injury that derailed his training camp.

“He’s been working really hard on some delivery stuff and I just want to see him settle in,” Vogt said before the game. “For all of our starters right now, it’s about building that volume. It can look a little bit different for everybody, but I’m excited to see him pitch. He’s been working really hard on some adjustments.”

Williams' fastball velocity actually went up to 96.6 mph last year after averaging 95.7 mph in his rookie season. But his fastball run value according to baseballsavant.com dropped drastically from an 8 in 2023 to a -1 in 2024.

Questions about the state of Williams' fastball were answered early Wednesday against Texas. Williams pumped 98 mph gas past Leody Taveras in an eight-pitch opening at-bat that resulted in a strikeout when the outfielder waved at a curveball in the dirt for strike three.

Cleveland took the lead in the third against Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi when Brayan Rocchio and Lane Thomas delivered back-to-back hits with two out. Rocchio’s torrid spring continued with a double off the wall in center and Thomas followed with an RBI single up the middle for his third run driven in this spring.

Rocchio’s double was his third as three of his four hits have gone for extra bases.

Lefty Will Dion followed Williams to the mound and matched his output. Dion, making his Cactus League debut, struck out three batters and faced the minimum over two innings.

Dion dotted a low fastball over the inside corner of the plate with two out in the third inning. The strike call was challenged by Texas outfielder Alejandro Osuna, but after a review by the Automated Ball-Strike system, the call was upheld. Dion remained in the game and whiffed Rangers All-Star catcher Jonah Heim to end the fourth.

Texas scored four in the top of the fifth inning against righty Jack Leftwich. Ezequiel Duran worked a one-out walk and Kyle Higashioka drove him in with an RBI double. Osuna, Nick Ahmed and Justin Foscue added RBI hits as the Ranger took a three-run lead.

Texas expanded its lead with Ahmed’s solo blast in the seventh off Cleveland righty Tanner Burns. It was the first spring home run for Ahmed and the first run allowed by Burns in two Cactus League appearances.

Cleveland rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh against Texas lefty Hoby Milner. C.J. Kayfus singled and came around on a 432-foot home run by Jose Devers. It was the first spring home run for Devers, who appeared in the game out of Cleveland’s depth camp.

Devers hit seven home runs in 102 at-bats for High-A Lake County last season.

The Guardians cut Texas' lead to one run when Cooper Ingle scored on an error by Rangers third baseman Cody Freeman off the bat of Yordys Valdes.

But the Rangers plated a pair of runs in the ninth against Cleveland righty Ross Carver. Malcom Moore drew a leadoff walk and pinch-runner Frainyer Chavez scored on an RBI double by Jax Biggers. Biggers later scored from third on a wild pitch by Carver that gave the Rangers a three-run advantage.

Cleveland slipped to 1-4 in exhibition play while the Rangers won for the second time in six outings.

Next: Left-hander Logan Allen (0-0, 4.50) will make his first start of spring training on Thursday when the Guardians travel to Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. to face the White Sox at 3:05 p.m. ET. Allen pitched in Cleveland’s spring opener, allowing a run in two innings with a strikeout.

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Guardians Relief Pitching Prospect Might Need Surgery

February 26, 2025

By Andres Chavez

The Cleveland Guardians have a lot of faith in right-hander Franco Aleman.

They believe that he can be their next great reliever and have a similar impact that Cade Smith had in 2024.

That’s why they gave him a spot on the 40-man roster at the beginning of the offseason: they didn’t want to lose him in the Rule 5 Draft.

Unfortunately, injuries happen and usually throw a wrench into one’s plans from time to time.

Aleman, as talented as he is, might not be available to pitch for a while.

In fact, there is a chance he needs surgery.

“Cleveland #Guardians RHP relief prospect Franco Aleman is likely dealing with an inguinal hernia. He had another appointment today to further evaluate the injury. He may need to undergo surgery,” Guardians Prospective posted on X.

There isn’t much more information at this time.

We will all have to wait until the team confirms the report and offers a firm timeline, which will obviously depend on whether he needs to go under the knife or not.

Aleman was shaping up as a member of the Opening Day bullpen and offers a solid floor and tantalizing upside.

He is a big guy (6’6”, 235) who generates incredible fastball velocity and has swing-and-miss stuff.

He threw 22.2 frames in Triple-A last season and returned a 1.99 ERA with 34 strikeouts to his name.

With his strikeout rate firmly over 30 percent and flirting with 40 percent when he is at his best, the Guardians knew he was going to contribute at some point this year.

Now, we will have to wait to see if that’s still the case.

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