The Cleveland Guardians’ bullpen is depleted heading into the 2026 season.

The front office opted to move on from Jakob Junis and Kolby Allard, both of whom are now free agents. They also moved on from Nic Enright, who suffered an injury towards the back half of the 2025 campaign, ultimately requiring Tommy John surgery, which rules him out for the entirety of the upcoming year.

And that’s a tough change for the Guardians to adjust to.

While any team will obviously have roster turnover, the Guardians’ bullpen was ranked as the third-best in all of baseball last year with an ERA of 3.44. Losing certain pieces will require the coaching staff to adjust to the arms they have available, and with those currently on the roster, they won’t be as effective as they could be.

So, it may be a good idea for the front office to explore some of the options available in free agency to bolster their bullpen arms.

Fortunately, this sentiment is supported by Cleveland’s President of Baseball Operations, Chris Antonetti.

“That’ll be a place where I think we will look at external options to add to the depth of that group,” Antonetti said.

Former New York Yankee, Mark Leiter Jr.

Leiter has been a solid piece in the Yankees’ and Chicago Cubs’ bullpens for the past few seasons.

With the Cubs, from 2022-2024, he pieced together an ERA of 3.85 on 168.1 innings pitched. That time on the mound was good enough to also contribute nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings. That strikeout ability is what Cleveland needs out of their bullpen arms to remain one of the top groups in the nation.

When playing for the Yankees in 2024 and 2025, he only built upon that strikeout per nine innings average, pushing it all the way to 11.2.

The right-hander’s ERA jumped up to 4.80 through 70 innings of action, but he still showed his strength in sending batters down quickly. His most effective pitching is against lefties, something that could have a major impact in Cleveland’s bullpen, allowing a measly average of .680 in the OPS department.

He did have his fair share of downs, though, last season. After the All-Star break, he started to lose his groove with an ERA of 5.79, but many believe it may have come down to a lingering left leg issue.

Either way, his career has a better track record of consistency and is worth a consideration of a contract from the Guardians.

The Guardians’ front office is used to signing free agent relievers.

Just last offseason, they brought in Junis and Paul Sewald on one-year deals. Signing a player like Lieter would warrant a similar length in contract, with his worth coming in anywhere from $3 million to $7 million. That’s an easy asking value for the Guardians to send a contract in for.

At nearly 35 years old, Leiter’s time in the league is ticking.

He more than likely wants to play for a contending team and the Guardians, at least in recent years, have been. If the front office ends up bringing in Leiter, they’d increase the chances that the bullpen doesn’t take a step back in the upcoming season and continues to be a Top 5 corp in MLB.