Cleveland Sports Forum

Guardians’ bullpen silence is getting loud: Where are Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith?

Updated: Mar. 05, 2026, 4:11 p.m.|Published: Mar. 05, 2026, 11:21 a.m.

By Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s a missing persons case unfolding in Goodyear, Arizona, and the suspect is load management.

Through 13-plus games of Cactus League play, Guardians closer Cade Smith has not thrown a single pitch in a game. His bullpen counterpart Hunter Gaddis has made exactly one appearance. Two of the most-used relievers in baseball over the past two seasons — the backbone of the Guardians’ dominant late-inning operation — have been virtually invisible this spring. And on the latest episode of Cleveland Baseball Talk, Joe Noga and Paul Hoynes are asking whether that’s a smart plan or a slow-building crisis.

It is a direct question, and it deserves a real answer. The team’s official posture frames this as intentional. Smith and Gaddis have logged extraordinary workloads over back-to-back seasons, combining for more than 150 appearances between them. The organization is being careful and protective. They know what they have in those two arms, and they don’t want them ground into dust before a pitch is thrown in April.

But here is where concern creeps in. There is a meaningful difference between load management and silence. Hoynes — who has been around this organization long enough to recognize what normal spring training looks like — is not fully buying the “all is well” narrative without some reservation.

“That’s a concern,” Hoynes said. “We’ll have to see how the next couple of weeks unfold. But the question is if Smith isn’t ready to open the season, who closes for these guys?”

That question — who closes? — is the one that unravels everything. Cleveland has built its bullpen identity around having a lockdown ninth-inning option. Without Smith, the entire structure shifts. The alternatives are capable arms. But they are not Cade Smith.

Noga framed the stakes clearly: these two relievers are, in terms of organizational indispensability, nearly as important as everyday players like José Ramírez or Steven Kwan. They are expected to take the mound practically every other night. That kind of workload demands preparation, and preparation requires actual game reps — even in March.

Hoynes leaned into the timeline with increasing urgency.

“I don’t mean to be an alarmist, but obviously 13 games into the season, you want your closer to be at least be on the mound, at least once or twice,” Hoynes said.

There is a silver lining the hosts acknowledged: the extended absence of Smith and Gaddis has created valuable runway for an abundance of bullpen candidates. Colin Holderman, Connor Brogdon, Rule 5 pick Peyton Pallette, and veterans like Pedro Avila and Kolby Allard have all had more opportunities to make their case for a roster spot. The Guardians built a crowded pitching room by design, and that depth is now getting a workout.

But there is only so much comfort a fan can draw from organizational depth when the most important arm on the roster has yet to throw a single pitch in a game setting. The Guardians also have a historical context worth remembering here. Under Terry Francona, Cleveland had a well-documented tendency to pile heavy workloads onto both starters and relievers. This spring’s caution may be, in part, a corrective response to those patterns — protecting what matters most before the marathon begins.

The next few weeks will tell the story. Either Smith ramps up, gets his work in, and arrives sharp for opening day in Seattle, or this quiet spring becomes a very loud April conversation.

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Travis Bazzana manifested his WBC dream debut on his iPhone — now Guardians fans want him to type in a World Series

Updated: Mar. 05, 2026, 11:27 a.m.|Published: Mar. 05, 2026, 11:26 a.m.

By Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If you need proof that Travis Bazzana is built different, look no further than his iPhone.

Cleveland.com Guardians beat reporters Joe Noga and Paul Hoynes opened the latest episode of the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast with the kind of story that sends chills down a baseball fan’s spine — and it starts not with a home run, not with a diving stop at second base, but with a note on a phone screen.

In the Tokyo Dome, batting leadoff for Team Australia, the Guardians’ top prospect went 2-for-4, launched a solo home run in the seventh inning, and helped the Aussies pull off a 3-0 upset over Chinese Taipei in the opening game of the World Baseball Classic. It was the debut performance of someone who had been building toward this exact moment for most of his life.

“This is something he’s been thinking about since he was a boy growing up in Australia,” Hoynes told listeners. “Then in college, he had it written on his iPhone that he wanted to bat leadoff and play for Team Australia in the WBC. And that’s exactly what he did.”

Let that sink in. Bazzana didn’t just dream about this — he wrote it down. He made it non-negotiable, committed it to memory, and then went out and lived it on one of baseball’s biggest international stages. That’s not luck. That’s the kind of drive and intentionality that separates top prospects from generational talents.

And on the podcast, Noga couldn’t help but run with the idea.

“If he’s that good at manifesting with his iPhone, he should type in ‘Guardians win World Series with Travis Bazzana batting leadoff in Game 7,’” Noga said. “I think a lot of Guardians fans would take that in a heartbeat.”

It’s a joke, sure — but there is genuine excitement underneath it. The Guardians have been patient with Bazzana, carefully managing his development through the minor leagues after injury setbacks pushed his timeline back. He might have already been in Cleveland had health cooperated. But watching him perform under pressure on an internationally televised stage makes the wait feel worthwhile.

What impressed the hosts wasn’t just the bat. Hoynes pointed out that Bazzana’s home run swing in Tokyo looked identical to the one he unleashed against the Dodgers in his final Cactus League appearance last week before departing for the WBC — clean, consistent, and locked in. And defensively, he made a diving stop at second base and gunned down a runner, flashing the kind of all-around game that makes scouts reach for their phones.

Then Noga dropped the comparison that will echo through Cleveland all spring.

“This is a kid who knows how to play the game and very much reminds me of Jason Kipnis in a lot of ways,” Nog said. “It looks like he could be the second coming there.”

Jason Kipnis. Two-time All-Star. The engine of a lineup that went to the World Series. A player defined by baseball intelligence, competitive fire, and the ability to come through when the moment was biggest. That name does not get dropped lightly in Cleveland — and Noga dropped it with total conviction.

Hoynes added important nuance: the comparison holds in body type and early defensive development — Kipnis wasn’t polished at second base right away either — but Bazzana may carry even more raw power at the plate. If anything, that’s an upgrade on the template.

For an organization leaning heavily into player development while operating with one of the game’s slimmest payrolls, Bazzana isn’t just a prospect. He’s the plan. He’s the bet. And right now, that bet is playing out in real time on a global stage in Japan — and it looks every bit as bright as advertised.

Listen to the full episode of Cleveland Baseball Talk with Joe Noga and Paul Hoynes for the complete breakdown of Bazzana’s WBC debut, the Kipnis comparison, and what it all means for the Guardians’ trajectory in 2025 and beyond. You don’t want to miss this one.

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Guardians’ late-inning arms off to slow starts because of injuries this spring

Updated: Mar. 05, 2026, 2:53 p.m.|Published: Mar. 05, 2026, 2:34 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Industrial-strength relievers Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis are having a hard time getting started in spring training for the Guardians.

Manager Stephen Vogt said Smith and Gaddis would be eased in Cactus League play at the start of camp because of their heavy usage over the last two seasons. However, they have combined to make just one appearance headed into tonight’s game against the White Sox in Glendale, Arizona — and that one didn’t go so well.

Gaddis threw a scoreless inning against the Cubs on Feb. 27 and came away with tightness in his right forearm.

Vogt told reporters in Goodyear, Arizona that Gaddis had an MRI on the forearm and “it came back clean.”

“We’ll re-assess on Thursday (following Wednesday’s off day) and build him back after that,” said Vogt.

Vogt was asked if the injury meant Gaddis would have to return to “square one” of his spring training program.

“No, it’s just getting him back into throwing and building him up to get into games,” said Vogt. “Like all of our guys, we go one day at a time. The good news is everything came back clean.”

Smith has been dealing with a sore neck for almost two weeks. He is scheduled to make his first appearance of the spring tonight against the White Sox. He’s also scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Rockies at Salt River Fields.

For the last two years, the Guardians’ bullpen has been one of the best in the big leagues. The loss of Gaddis or Smith would have serious implications. The front office spent much of the winter fortifying the bullpen because of the loss of closer Emmanuel Clase, indicted by federal prosecutors along with teammate Luis Ortiz in November for conspiring with gamblers to throw fixed pitches in games to influence prop bets.

Smith replaced Clase last season, registering 13 of his 16 saves after the move, Gaddis replaced Smith in the set-up role.

The Guardians have pitched Smith and Gaddis hard and often the last two years.

Smith has made 162 appearances, including the postseason, over the last two years. He’s thrown 162 1/3 innings.

Gaddis has made 162 appearances, including the postseason, over the last two years. He’s thrown 151 1/3 innings.

Should Smith be unable to close, Gaddis would probably replace him. If Smith and Gaddis were unavailable, Shawn Armstrong, who saved nine games last year for Texas, could be an option.

After that it’s open tryouts.

The Guardians are also monitoring several other injury situations.

Vogt said part of Chase DeLauter’s “lower body soreness” was caused by a sore hamstring. DeLauter missed four games earlier this spring because of that injury. He returned to the lineup Sunday against Colorado and doubled and homered in his first two at-bats. However, he has not played since that game.

Vogt said DeLauter would start playing games after Wednesday’s off day.

Shortstop Gabriel Arias, scratched from Sunday’s split-squad game against Arizona because of lower back soreness, is feeling better.

Right-hander Austin Peterson, added to the 40-man roster in November, will miss six to eight weeks with a moderate grade strain of the right triceps. Peterson pitched in one game this spring.

Peterson led Cleveland’s minor league system with 145 2/3 innings last season, finishing second in strikeouts (127) and third in ERA (3.21). Peterson went 8-6 in 28 games, including 26 starts, at Double-A and Triple-A Columbus.

The injury hurts the Guardians’ depth in starting pitching.

Right-hander Tanner Bibee (0-1, 5.40) will face the White Sox tonight in his third start of the spring. The 8:05 p.m. game will not be carried by Guardians TV or WTAM/1100.

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