Guardians DFA Bradley, Allen to trim roster

OAKLAND -- The Guardians have officially cut their active roster down from 28 to 26 players.

After Cleveland’s 7-3 victory over Oakland on Sunday afternoon, the team announced that first baseman Bobby Bradley and left-hander Logan Allen were designated for assignment.

Teams are required to go from 28 players to 26 by Monday. Major League Baseball allowed clubs to open the season with an extended roster due to the shortened Spring Training caused by the CBA negotiations. But rosters were required to go back to their standard size by May 2.

Because Cleveland added so many prospects to its 40-man roster over the winter, the team has already experienced plenty of headaches when it comes to piecing its roster together. But if it had to make two moves, Allen and Bradley were favorable candidates.

Last year, Cleveland hoped that Bradley was going to be an answer to its offensive struggles. Prior to his callup, the first baseman was raking in Triple-A Columbus, hitting nine homers with 19 RBIs in 26 games. But when he finally got the opportunity at the Major League level, he wasn't able to pick up much steam.

This season, Bradley went 2-for-17 (.118) with nine strikeouts. Now that the Guardians have options in both Owen Miller and a healthy Josh Naylor at first base, Bradley didn’t have a home on the roster.

Allen found himself in a similar situation as Bradley. He attempted to work his way into the Guardians starting rotation last year and during his red-hot 2021 spring campaign, he forced the team to take a chance on opening the year with him in the rotation. But the lefty hasn’t been able rediscover that groove since.

Allen owned a 6.26 ERA in ’21, striking out 37 batters and walking 17 in 50 1/3 innings. He returned this year as a long-relief option out of the bullpen and pitched to a 4.50 ERA in four opportunities. But like Bradley, Allen was forced to compete with a handful of other arms in his exact role. With Sam Hentges and Eli Morgan already capable of handling the long-relief duties and the rotation loaded with reliable hurlers, Allen became the odd man out.