Which Guardians’ starters will follow behind Tanner Bibee? The week in baseball
Updated: Mar. 08, 2025, 1:48 p.m.|Published: Mar. 08, 2025, 1:06 p.m.
By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Pitching coach Carl Willis says the competition for spots in the Guardians' starting rotation has been “super” this spring. It has been super busy as well.
There are so many willing arms that Tanner Bibee’s first start of the spring on Thursday night barely drew a mention.
Bibee, being slow-played because of his workload last year, threw three scoreless innings against Arizona on Cleveland’s 12th game of the Cactus League season. He’s in line to make his first opening day start on March 27, but that was an afterthought because of all the pushing and shoving going on behind him to fill the last four spots in the rotation.
Presuming Bibee is the rotation’s starting point, who follows behind him?
Well, the race doesn’t always go to the swiftest or the busiest, but let’s start with the busiest anyway.
Lefties Logan Allan and prospect Doug Nikhazy lead the staff in innings pitched with 7 2/3 and seven, respectively.
Allen is no stranger to the rotation. Before losing his starting role last year, he made 44 starts in 2023 and 2024 for the Guardians. This spring he’s 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA in three appearances, including one start.
The Guardians told him at the end of last year to come to camp ready to compete, and he has.
Nikhazy, added to the 40-man roster in November, is 1-0 with team-high 10 strikeouts and has not allowed a run in three relief appearances. Willis said Nikhazy not only has a chance to make the rotation, but could also slip into the bullpen.
Those who stayed
While Allen was a holdover from last year, he spent much of the season at Triple-A Columbus. Two other holdovers from last year, Ben Lively and Gavin Williams, have pitched well this spring.
Lively, who won 13 games and made 29 starts last year, is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in two starts this spring. He’ll make his third start against Kansas City on Monday in a split-squad game.
Williams, who opened last year on the injured list because of a sore right elbow, made 16 starts last year. He went 3-10 with a 4.86 ERA and was not happy about it.
He spent the offseason training at agent Scott Boras facility near Miami, losing 15 pounds. He also threw for Willis frequently to refine his pitches. The work is paying off.
Williams has a 2.08 ERA in two Cactus League starts, striking out nine in 4 1/3 innings. He’ll make his third start Sunday against the White Sox.
“The Gavin that is throwing this spring training is the Gavin everyone in this organization has been raving about,” said bench coach Craig Albernaz, who was filling in for manager Stephen Vogt, who was out with the flu.
What about McKenzie?
Triston McKenzie is another holdover from last year’s staff. McKenzie has made two appearances this spring, going 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA.
He started the Cactus League opener on Feb. 22 and pitched well against Cincinnati. In his next appearance, he walked five and allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning.
McKenzie, who is out of minor league options, threw in a minor league game on Wednesday’s off day. He’s scheduled to start on Monday against the Cubs in a split-squad game.
The last two seasons have been hard on McKenzie. He made just four starts in 2023 because of right shoulder and elbow injuries. Last year he went 3-5 with a 5.11 ERA in 16 starts before being optioned to Columbus.
Who are these guys?
There are several more arms in play.
The Guardians acquired right-hander Luis Ortiz from the Pirates in December. The minute the trade was announced, Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, said Ortiz would be in the starting rotation.
Ortiz is 0-1 with a 14.54 ERA in two starts this spring. He’s had one bad one and one good one. Ortiz will make his third start Saturday against the Padres.
The Guardians also acquired Slade Cecconi from Arizona in the Josh Naylor trade. They’re looking at Cecconi as a starter and reliever. He’s 0-0 with a 16.88 ERA in three appearances, including one start
Lefty Joey Cantillo made his big league debut with the Guardians last year. He made nine appearances, including eight starts. In the postseason, he made three relief appearances.
Cantillo threw three scoreless innings on Friday in a 12-5 win against the A’s. He’s 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA and six strikeouts.
“Strikes play,” said Vogt early in camp. “When Joey fills up the strike zone, his stuff is as good as anyone’s.”
Here is the plan
Last year the Guardians walked the tightrope with their starting pitching because of injuries and poor performances. They were scrambling most of the season with 14 different pitchers making starts.
It was clear the front office did not want to go through that again. That is why Kolby Allard and Vince Velasquez are in camp on minor league deals. It’s why they signed free agents Shane Bieber, John Means and Jakob Junis, even though Bieber and Means won’t be able to pitch until midseason because of Tommy John surgery, and Junis is scheduled to pitch mostly out of the bullpen.
Settling on a five-man rotation out of all those arms by opening day will take work. But at least, for the moment, the Guardians' decision makers have numbers to work with.
There will be starters waiting for a phone call at Triple-A, and perhaps a couple waiting in the big league bullpen as well. It’s unclear if Allard or Velasquez have opt-out clauses in their contracts, but if they agree to stay with the organization, that would help as well.
By August, in a perfect world, reinforcements in the form of Bieber and Means would be available as well.
It sounds like a plan.
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