CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians’ renowned “pitching factory” may be quietly preparing for its next generation of leadership. Brad Goldberg, the team’s assistant pitching coach, has been named Team Israel’s pitching coach for the upcoming World Baseball Classic – a development that signals his rising stock within baseball and raises questions about whether he’s being groomed as the eventual successor to veteran pitching coach Carl Willis.
“He really has had a rapid rise through the organization since joining in 2022,” explained Joe Noga on the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, detailing Goldberg’s remarkable trajectory from bullpen coach in 2024 to his current role.
The Northeast Ohio native’s connection to Team Israel extends back to his playing days. As Noga noted, Goldberg pitched for Israel back in 2017 in the World Baseball Classic when he was a prospect in the White Sox organization. During that tournament, he delivered two scoreless appearances as Israel made a surprising run to the second round.
What makes Goldberg’s ascent particularly noteworthy is his deep local roots and emotional connection to the Guardians. After starring at Beachwood High School, Goldberg pitched for Ohio State before embarking on his professional career. “He’s a Northeast Ohio native whose family had season tickets to Progressive Field to watch the club when he was growing up,” Noga explained, highlighting the storybook quality of his Cleveland journey.
This local connection, combined with his demonstrable impact on Cleveland’s pitchers, naturally raises questions about his long-term future with the organization. Noga directly addressed the succession question: “Maybe is this guy an heir apparent to Carl Willis? When Carl Willis finally decides to go out on his own terms… is Goldberg kind of the guy who’s being groomed to follow in his footsteps?”
The evidence suggests he could be. Under Goldberg’s guidance as bullpen coach in 2024, Cleveland’s relief corps emerged as arguably baseball’s best. His promotion to assistant pitching coach coincided with a remarkable turnaround from the starting rotation as well.
“I think whatever he’s done… he hasn’t done anything but help himself as a member of the Guardians coaching staff,” affirmed Paul Hoynes, recognizing Goldberg’s consistent positive impact.
Cleveland’s “pitching group” approach has long been central to their player development success, creating a collaborative environment that has produced remarkable results despite budget constraints. Goldberg appears to be thriving within this system, building relationships with emerging stars like Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams while working alongside Willis.
The World Baseball Classic assignment represents another significant step in his professional development. As Hoynes noted, “It’s a kind of a feather in Goldberg’s hat. Certainly, I would think he has his eye on being a pitching coach in the big leagues somewhere. So this is just another line on the resume for him.”
Whether that opportunity comes as Willis’ successor in Cleveland or elsewhere remains to be seen. But as Team Israel prepares for WBC competition in Tokyo this March, it’s clear that Goldberg’s star continues to rise – and the Guardians’ pitching legacy appears to be in capable hands for the future.
Read the automated transcript of today’s podcast below. Because it’s an AI-generated transcript, it may contain errors and misspellings.
Podcast Transcript
Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynsie, a busy day on Thursday with the arbitration filing deadline around Major League Baseball. Lots of contracts and numbers being thrown around. The big number and the big contract important to Guardians fans is that of Steven Kwan. He and the Guardians agree on a one year, $7.725 million deal for him to play in 2026. For the Guardians. This is I think both a positive and maybe a little bit of a negative as well. But the one thing we know for sure is that Steven Kwan is in the fold and as the season starts, as long as nothing happens between now and the end of spring training, Steven Kwan will be in left field for the Cleveland Guardians early in the season. What was your reaction to the Guardians and Kwan coming to an agreement and is this a good sign or a bad sign for Steven Kwan’s future here in Cleveland?
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I’m not surprised they reached a deal to really think, you know, I mean, basically unless they traded Kwan, he was signed, he’s going to, he’s going to be signed one way or the other. Well, you know, I was surprised at the price tag. I thought, you know, the projections had had him, you know, making, you know, more than, you know, $8 to $8 plus million, $8 to $9 million for the one year deal. You know, I don’t think he’s going to starve on $7.725 million. So, you know, it’s a good deal for Kwan. You know, he made $4.175 million last year, almost doubles that. I, you know, just to me, Joe, maybe with him taking a smaller figure and not taking the team to arbitration, maybe this kind of sets the path for a multi year deal or an extension sometime in spring training, which is the time the Guardians usually like to negotiate those things.
Joe Noga: Yeah, it almost, you know, says to me, hey, if you’re coming from the Guardians perspective, you know, we, we know we could have you this season for, you know, X amount of dollars. But let’s, let’s negotiate, let’s talk, let’s, let’s make sure that you’re taken care of here. These are, these are maybe tactics that they can use to ensure that the Kwan wants to sign and wants to increase that of the deal that he signed, you know, longer period of time. But we can’t get inside both of their heads right now until, until we find out that they’ve actually been talking and sitting down and having these negotiations. So yeah, right now is a sort of A big period of, you know, we don’t know if and when conversations are happening, but when they do, it could result in something real positive here. I wonder if there’s maybe a false sense now for Guardians fans that, you know, he was willing to sign this deal. Maybe he’ll give the, the team a break or a hometown discount or sign a contract that’s, that’s more team friendly because of this. That, that might not necessarily be the case.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I, I’m not sure, you know, if what, what that, you know, I’m sure they negotiated a deal that was, that was, you know, that they felt was fair to both sides. Joe, if he, if he didn’t like it, I mean, he certainly has the stats to go to an arbitration hearing, maybe he didn’t have the appetite for that. But you know, I know his numbers, you know, he, he was a bit of a drop off in the second half. He only had what he finished a year with a 96 OPS plus with, you know, 100 being the league average, but still he’s a valuable player. And when you’re, when you’re in arbitration, you can bring your, your past, I think two, two seasons into play as well to argue in front of the arbitrators. And you know, he’s been a pretty solid, he’s been their second best player for four years. I mean, if he wanted to go to arbitration, he could have gone. So I think it’s, you know, some guys want to go, some guys don’t. And, and either way, I mean he, he must have felt this was a, a fair settlement because he took it.
Joe Noga: Yeah, the, the OPS plus number 96 last year, so slightly below league average, but 1. 26 the year before. And that was his first of two all star years. Yeah, his, his career OPS plus 1. 09. The career numbers the last four years for Steven Kwan really have been outstanding. And we, we’ve seen just how valuable he is to the top of that lineup. Steven Vogt says he’s, he’s our engine. He’s, he’s the guy that gets things started for us. And then they hand off to, to, to Jose Ramirez. And Ramirez needs somebody on base to, to drive in if, if they’re going to have any sort of offense. And, and Kwan’s usually that guy still hasn’t scored what, over 100 runs in a season yet. I think that’s sort of the next benchmark, the next level that he needs to get to or wants to get to sort of prove himself in that regard, but everywhere else on the field I think he’s done so. Yeah, no doubt that, that this is a, you know, a big sort of step forward. Now it’s just a matter of can the front office get this together and get a, get a deal done before the season starts and then you have to shift your focus to, to starting to, to see what you can get for Steven Kwan before the end of the year in a trade.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, no doubt about it, Joe. I think the key thing to me is okay, you know, they have spent over 12 million on the four arbitration eligible players that they’ve got under contract now. And when you look at the projected 26 man roster for this team, it’s 76 million, Joe. And last season they were pushing 100 million on opening day for the, you know, for the 26 man roster. How do they fill in the blanks here, Joe? They’ve still got some money to spend or are they going to sit on our hands and go with the, the young core that they, they don’t want to bring players into? That’s, that’s the big question to me. I mean they’ve still got some, they still have some needs on this club and the question is, are they going to spend that money?
Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s that, that’s the real mystery. And we, we don’t really know. We know that there’s, there’s got to be a plan. We just haven’t seen what the, what the evidence of that is yet. So the big question right now is with, you know, what, what, what dollars that we, we suspect are, are still out there that can be spent. Are they going to do that or are they Preparing for the inevitable stoppage after the 2026 season? And, and they don’t want to tie up money and spend on guys who, who aren’t going to be playing games eventually for them or a number of games. You know, is the belt tightening already starting to happen here in 2026 for the projected work stoppage at the end of the year?
Paul Hoynes: It’s a great point, Joe, but I think the guys they bring in now are going to be on one year deals, right? They’re going to be like Austin Hayes and, and maybe of kind of a veteran outfielder. You know, I, I, you know, I, along those lines that, you know, we saw them with, with Jakob Junis and, and Seawall, guys like that that they brought in last season, you know, late. I think, you know what Seawall would they confirm that in February. So I think there’s still some, you Know, there’s still some, you know, Runway here for them to, you know, pad this roster and add some thump to it.
Joe Noga: We’ll, we’ll find out in the coming weeks what, you know, what direction these guys, this front office wants to go in in terms of adding or making additions to, to the roster. Steven Kwan wasn’t the only big name or name that Guardians fans should be keeping an eye on in terms of yesterday’s arbitration exchange date. The big news around the league, the one that sort of could really break the arbitration system I guess is Tarik Skubal and we talked about this yesterday, but this was ahead of the announcement of what these, these figures and what the, the exchanges of arbitration numbers were going to be. The Tigers came in at 19 million with their, their arbitration figure which, which would have matched Framber Valdez would have come close to David Price as the, the highest single year arbitration award for a pitcher in his, in his final year. Skubal’s number a little different, a lot different actually. He came in at 32 million which would have put him at the top end of any free agent out there and the highest arbitration award for any player regardless of position or pitcher player Juan Soto with the $31.5 million I think was the previous high. And now a three panel arbitration, a three panel, three judge panel of arbitrators has to sit down and decide if school is going to make $32 million or $19 million. And that’s quite the gap between the two. What’s this, this situation now say about the arbitration system, about Skubal’s likelihood of pitching even an inning in Detroit this year and really the future of baseball because this has the ability to set a lot of precedent.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, this is, you know, I guess when it comes to this maybe perhaps reaching some kind of deal before you go to arbitration, then lots of teams take the, as we were talking about yesterday, the file or trial approach, if you, if they can’t reach a deal on the, the deadline when they exchange figures, they go to the arbitrators and you know, they either take the player’s number or the team’s number. There’s no middle ground there. So this is really going to be fascinating to watch. Last year before, you know, before the boroughs had Juan Soto and Soto holds a record for $31 million arbitration settlement a couple two years ago with the Yankees and now he could have the, he could have the record with, for the overall record, especially for a pitcher, Joe, if they, if he comes home with 32 million and it’s really going to be an interesting situation.
Joe Noga: Yeah, I, I think it’s interesting. It’s also kind of scary if you’re, you know, if you’re a baseball fan who wants to see games continue to be played beyond 2026. I think it’s could be a sticking point in the negotiations because we’ve talked about how the owners want to change or get rid of the arbitration system. This is basically Skubal saying, pay me what you would pay me if I were on the open market as a free agent right now. And the, the system is in place to sort of control those costs, you know, from the owner’s perspective. You know, why treat the guy as if he were already a free agent? The system is in place to control those costs, at least for this final year. So that’s why the 19 million number. I mean, if Skubal had asked for 21 or 22 million, he almost certainly would have, would have gotten it, you know, automatically from the, the arbitration panel. That, that’s, that’s not even a doubt because as far as the arbitration eligible players in his class, he’s the top. He should be making that money there. Basically, it’s asking the arbitrators to go ahead and tear down the entire system by bumping him up to a full free agent status before he’s able to be there.
Paul Hoynes: Well, the rules say, Joe, the, the arbitration rules say that a player, you can compare a player in his last year of arbitration to free agents already on the market, you know, that are similar to him. So you’re talking about a two time Cy Young winner and there’s plenty of pitchers out there making 30 million a year that could play into this decision as well if you’re, you know, so if you’re the Tigers, I would think you’d want to reach a deal before that. Or Joe, you know, think about this. The, the hearings are in February. They’ll probably be in camp by then or you know, the early part of February for the early part of camp. And if you’re the Tigers, you’re sitting there thinking, can’t do too much more because either I’m paying this guy 90 or, you know, or 32 million. So it kind of handcuffs you, you know, as far as, you know, improving the roster goes. So that’s really a, you know, a tricky position for, for Skubal and the Tigers. I mean, especially the Tigers. I believe Scuba, you can’t lose.
Joe Noga: Yeah, you take whatever that 13 million gap there and you say, hey, we could have signed Alex Bregman with this money, but instead we have to sort of hold it in reserve because we don’t know if we’re going to have to pay Tarek School. And does this force, you know, Skubal’s exit from Detroit either by trade or in some other way just because, you know, they need that flexibility and they need that ability to manage their roster in other ways?
Paul Hoynes: Well, we saw with, you know, I’m not comparing Soto and Skubal, you know, personality wise, but Soto took the 31 million, you know, arbitration award, played one year with the Yankees, broke Cleveland’s heart in the ALCS and then, and then right after they were eliminated, what in the World Series, said, I’m on the open market and then signs what for 765 million with the Mets. You know, Skubal is, is even if he loses, I mean, he still goes for what, 10 million to 19 million. And, and I think if, if he pro, if he does lose, you know, I mean, you can’t be unhappy with a $19 million pay, pay, you know, paycheck. But still, you’re probably going to be a little perturbed with the, with, with how the, with what the. Whatever the Tigers said in the arbitration hearing that convince the arbitrators not to give you 32 million.
Joe Noga: And all of that conflict obviously benefits the Guardians in some way. Either you’ve got a school not pitching in the division anymore because he’s been traded to the Mets or somebody else, or you’ve got a really angry school pitching on a team that he doesn’t want to be on. And maybe we see a few more flips between his legs down for. Down the first baseline. And maybe he doesn’t pitch at, you know, the optimum level when he faces Cleveland three to four times a year, 2026. But who knows how this is going to shake out with Skubal and how it will affect not only the Tigers, but all of baseball, all the division and all of MLB. Just working towards a labor contract beyond 2026 has a far reaching impact, I think is the, is the key takeaway here. Speaking of far reaching impact, the news out of Guardians camp confirmed by the club. Assistant pitching coach Brad Goldberg will be joining Team Israel for the World Baseball Classic and serving as their pitching coach. Big step for Goldberg, who actually pitched for Team Israel back in 2017 in the world Baseball Classic when he was a prospect in the White Sox organization. He came out and had an outstanding tournament. Two appearances for Team Israel in 2017, two scoreless appearances as they advanced to the second round of out of pool play in their first ever World Baseball Classic tournament. Now they’re the team from Israel is back. They will be competing in the Tokyo in the upcoming World Baseball Classic tournament. So congratulations to Brad Goldberg on being named the pitching coach. And how is this going to impact the Guardians not having Goldberg there for pretty much the first you know couple of weeks of camp early in March there. I believe March 5th is when the tournament starts over in Tokyo.
Paul Hoynes: I don’t think it’ll have a big impact. They’re going to. There’s possibly. There’s quite possibly they’re going to lose, you know, a couple at least, you know, maybe several players to w the WBC. You know, they’ve got a bunch of Canadian guys on this club that could pitch for Team Canada. Others you know, for from their various countries. I’m not sure how long Team Israel’s run will last but you know, it’s a kind of a feather in Goldberg’s hat. Certainly, you know, I would you know, he got promoted the guardian’s promoter from bullpen coach to assistant pitching coach. I would think he has his eye on being a pitching coach in the big league somewhere. So this is just another, you know, another line on the resume for him. Another good reference point for teams to you know, look at this guy and look at the job he does.
Joe Noga: We talk about you mentioned he got promoted. He was the bullpen coach in 2024. Did an outstanding job there. That bullpen was elite the best in baseball at the time. He becomes an assistant pitching coach to Carl Willis the following year and really has had a rapid rise through the organization since joining in 2022. Prior to that he was the director of pitching development for Ohio State where he pitched after leaving Beechwood High School. Obviously he’s a Northeast Ohio native guy whose family had season tickets too progressive field to to watch the club when he was growing up. So you know that, that his heart is with the Guardians organization and they want to keep him around. They recognize sort of his talent as a pitching coach. You know, maybe is this guy an heir apparent to Carl Willis? When Carl Willis finally decides to to go out on his own terms as we’ve seen, you know, Willis sort of has that that open ended, you know, sort of feeling an agreement of you know, as long as he wants that job, he’s going to have it. But you know, is Goldberg kind of the guy who’s being groomed to follow in his footsteps?
Paul Hoynes: You know, it could be. They’ve they have, like, I think the pitching team, or the pitching group, as the Guardians call it. They’ve got Carl Willis, they’ve got, you know, Joe Torres, they’ve got Goldberg, the new bullpen coach, Caleb Longshore, and, you know, they’ve got, like, it seems like they’ve got 20, you know, pitching. Pitching gurus in the minors. So, you know, they. They really have a, you know, a solid, you know, group there, a history of developing starters. I think Goldberg did. Did a real good job, assisted in. In, you know, bringing that rotation back to life last season along with Torres and. And of course, Carl Willis. I think whatever he’s. He hasn’t done anything but help himself as a member of the Guardians coaching staff.
Joe Noga: Yeah, you know, it just seems like everywhere he goes, everything he touches turns to gold there. Wow, I see what you did there. Yeah, you see what I did there. The bullpen, he takes over in 20, 24, they. They become the best in baseball. And the rotation, you really can’t discount what he did to help there. And I’m sure guys like Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams, for as much as they love and respect and enjoy working with Carl Willis, they also get that same kind of support from Brad Goldberg. It’s pretty evident. So, you know, we’ll. We’ll keep an eye on that as, you know, what. What the pitching group for Israel is able to do in this tournament, and we’ll see if Brad Goldberg. Brad Goldberg makes a difference for them. All right, Hoynsie, that’s going to wrap up today’s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. Pretty busy week, actually, for not much going on. We’ll. We’ll check back in on Monday and see. See what developments show up then.
Paul Hoynes: Good deal.