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Guardians Pitcher Discusses Cleveland's Dominant Bullpen
Sep 2, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Cade Smith (36) pitches during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Guardians Pitcher Discusses Cleveland's Dominant Bullpen

Originally posted on Cleveland Guardians on SI
By Tommy Wild  |  Last updated Feb 10, 2025 9:30 PM ET

There were numerous reasons the Cleveland Guardians won 92 games a season ago and were just a few games short of the World Series. However, one of the biggest causes of their success was the team's elite bullpen.

There wasn't a better reliever core in MLB better than the Guardians.

Cade Smith recently appeared on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM and discussed one of the reasons Cleveland's bullpen was so dominant during the 2024 season.

"As far as roles, we had a lot of different guys pitch in different scenarios. So, really, it didn't become anything where pride got in the way. It was all about, when the phones rings, is everybody ready for whatever could be asked depending on whatever name it is? So, I think there was little selflessness in that, and just trying to be ready to do your part to try and contribute to the team," said Smith.

It's pretty tough for a team to gameplan for a bullpen when it could be one of three or four different pitchers coming into a specific situation.

Along with Smith, the Guardians had Hunter Gaddis and Tim Herrin as reliable setup men and, of course, Emmanuel Clase as the team's closer.

They could be even better on paper this year thanks to the addition of veteran arm Paul Sewald and prospects such as Andrew Walter and Franco Aleman as options as well.

Smith was at the heart of Cleveland's bullpen dominance. The rookie reliever finished the 2024 season with a 1.91 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and a 213 ERA+.

It's going to be a challenge for the Guardians to repeat their bullpen dominance in 2024. There could be natural regression, and it's overall pretty difficult to have a consecutive season with a sub-2.57 reliever ERA.

However, if the Guardians' bullpen core continues this selfless mentality and is prepared to pitch whenever called upon, Cleveland could once again have the best bullpen in baseball in 2025.

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage


This article first appeared on Cleveland Guardians on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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