Guardians’ young pitcher has a massive opportunity ahead of him originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
We are getting to the point in Spring Training where the World Baseball Classic guys are leaving, opening up more opportunities for the younger players. Teams will be having position battles and pitcher battles, trying to figure out who will play at what level.
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For Cleveland Guardians‘ Joey Cantillo, this spring could not be any more important. After ending the year on fire, he will be battling for the final starting spot in the Cleveland rotation.
It will be between him and Parker Messick. But don’t expect the Guardians to rush to a decision.
Guardians’ young pitcher has a massive opportunity ahead of him
One thing that sticks out about this pitcher battle is that Cantillo is out of options. So, Cleveland cannot send him to Triple-A.
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They have to use or lose the young lefty, and shifting him to the bullpen doesn’t seem like an option, via The Athletic’s Eno Sarris.
“He’s out of options and this isn’t a Guardians team that has the luxury of making him a reliever right now. And opportunity is almost as important as talent when it comes to young pitching.”
In short, Cantillo holds a bit of leverage here. If he doesn’t secure that final spot, he would be put on waivers, and it’s unlikely he would last long.
Cantillo was not just good toward the end of the 2025 season; he was nearly lights out. He held a 1.59 ERA across his last seven starts and had an above-average strikeout rate of 25.9%.
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The Chicago White Sox, who would be high on the waiver priority, could use another left-handed starting option. You also cannot rule out the Athletics, who are always looking for young and cheap starters.
So, for Cantillo, he has the opportunity to win the final starting spot for Cleveland or show out some more and catch on with another team if Cleveland decides to go a different direction.
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