Guardians Pitcher Earns Monumental Comparison to Yankees Legend

The Cleveland Guardians one of the best bullpens of all-time last season, and it ultimately catapulted them to an AL Central division title and an ALCS appearance.

The Guardians are hoping that their dominant relief pitchers will guide them once again in 2025, and while bona fide close Emmanuel Clase has actually shown some cracks early on, their other key relievers have been as advertised, with neither Hunter Gaddis nor Cade Smith allowing a run just yet.

Gaddis in particular has caught the attention of Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller, who went as far to compare him to the undisputed best relief pitcher in MLB history.

"Give us Gaddis, though, who might be following in the footsteps of Mariano Rivera, breaking into the big leagues as a starter before quickly cementing himself as a dominant reliever instead," Miller wrote.

That much is true. Rivera was actually a failed starter with the New York Yankees before transitioning to a middle relief role and then, eventually, to a closer, where he established himself as one of the most prolific arms to ever step on the mound.

Gaddis, too, did not exactly pitch all that well in limited action as a starter between 2022 and 2023 prior to becoming a full-time reliever last season, when he logged a 1.57 ERA and 0.763 WHIP over 78 innings of work.

Likening Gaddis to Rivera is probably a bit ambitious, but Miller seems more to be referring to his path rather than his actual production and skill set.

He may never be Mariano, but there is no question that Gaddis is on his way to cementing himself as one of the very best bullpen arms in baseball.

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