Cleveland Guardians Sign International Pitching Prospect

The Cleveland Guardians are widely known as a pitching factory, and for good reason. They churn out impressive arms like few other teams in baseball, and while player development is obviously a huge factor, the Guardians are also brilliant in the scouting department.

That's why whenever Cleveland acquires a pitcher, you know there has to be a very significant reason, and most people trust the Guardians' judgment when it comes to hurlers.

Well, Cleveland just added a pitcher via the international pool, signing Dominican native Juan Yan, who trains with Global Baseball Academy

The Guardians handed the right-hander a $45,000 bonus upon signing, via baseball insider Francys Romero.

There is not much known about Yan up until this point, but more information will surely become available in the weeks and months to come.

Of course, just because Cleveland signed Yan does not necessarily mean we will ever see him in a Guardians uniform, but it's a good indication that there is something there that Cleveland certainly feels it can work with heading into the the future.

Believe it or not, the Guardians' starting rotation — which has historically been a strong point of the franchise over the last couple of decades — has actually been a source of contention over the past two seasons. Cleveland had one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball last year (in terms of starters), and this season, the rotation has been rather inconsistent.

The impending return of Shane Bieber should absolutely help, but there is also no doubt that the Guardians have questionable starting pitching depth, especially with Ben Lively going down for the year thanks to Tommy John surgery.

We'll see if Cleveland makes any midseason additions to bolster is playoff chances.

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