GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Five days before Opening Day, the Guardians are close to naming the fifth starter in the rotation.
Tanner Bibee, Luis Ortiz, Gavin Williams and Ben Lively are the four top options, as Shane Bieber, who won¡¯t be on the Guardians¡¯ initial roster while he rehabs from Tommy John surgery, is expected to return this summer. Joey Cantillo, Logan Allen and Triston McKenzie figure to be vying for that last spot as Cleveland plays its final Cactus League home game Saturday.
¡°We¡¯re close, we¡¯re very close. We should know in the next day or two,¡± manager Stephen Vogt said. ¡°We still have to make sure that we¡¯re not missing anything and we need to have conversations.¡±
On this last weekend of camp in Goodyear, the Guardians know three more pitchers won¡¯t make the final roster.
Cleveland made a point to add pitching depth in the offseason with a flurry of acquisitions. Among the newcomers were Parker Mushinski, Vince Velasquez and Kolby Allard, all non-roster hopefuls invited to Spring Training.
Vogt talked Saturday about the trio not being on the Opening Day roster. Competition has been tough within a Guardians group that posted the lowest bullpen ERA (2.57) in all of baseball in 2024.
¡°We¡¯ve had a lot of people step up, we¡¯ve had a lot of people putting pressure,¡± Vogt said. ¡°This is what we hope for. We hope to have some really difficult conversations. They¡¯re not fun by any means. We had some difficult ones [Friday] with guys who had good camps.¡±
Mushinski, who could still emerge as a lefty option out of the bullpen in 2025, signed as a free agent this past November. The 29-year-old made the Opening Day roster with the Astros a year ago and has impressed this spring in Arizona, appearing in six games with a 1.29 ERA, one walk and seven strikeouts.
¡°I made a lot of adjustments with the pitching staff,¡± Mushinski said Saturday. ¡°We¡¯ve been on the same page and I¡¯ve thrown the ball really, really well. Just gotta keep going in the same direction and whatever happens, happens.¡±
Mushinski will remain in camp, including when the final two exhibition games against the Diamondbacks shift to Chase Field on Monday and Tuesday.
Velasquez, a 32-year-old righty with nine years of MLB service, battled injuries in 2023 and 2024, and then an illness this spring. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday this week but went 16 days between Spring Training outings while dealing with sickness.
The Guardians in February signed Velasquez to a Minor League deal with an invitation to camp. The former Pirate spent all of 2024 rehabbing from right elbow ligament reconstruction surgery. His last MLB regular-season appearance was May 27, 2023, in which he lasted two innings before going on the IL.
Velasquez will pitch Sunday against the Reds in Goodyear.
Allard, another lefty option, also signed a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training in February. The 27-year-old, a former first-round Draft pick, made a career-high 17 starts with the Rangers in 2021 but has just seven starts in a limited role since then through stints with the Rangers, Braves and Phillies.