The Cleveland Guardians are on their way to the postseason, as the team currently leads the AL Central by four and a half games. The team beat the NL West leading Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday evening and plays the second game in their three-game set Saturday evening. On Friday, manager Stephen Vogt discussed the rehab of various players, including reliever James Karinchak. According to the first-year skipper, the high-leverage reliever might be back by the time the season ends.
Closer Emmanuel Clase is the best reliever in the majors this season, and the Guardians' bullpen has been a strong suit. Adding a reliever like Karinchak could make them even more dangerous as the regular season draws to a close. Furthermore, October is arguably the most important time of the year to have an elite relief unit. Starting pitchers tend to have shorter leashes as wins become more critical, so having as many weapons as possible in the pen can only help.
Hopefully Karinchak can return to his previous form and make Vogt's bullpen even more formidable than before. He just needs to get healthy and get back to Progressive Field. The sooner, the better.
James Karinchak, Guardians hope to capture first title since 1948
While the Guardians currently lead their division, the Kansas City Royals are just 4.5 games back. The third-place team, which is the Minnesota Twins, is another half-game behind the Royals and five games back of the Guardians. Continuing their winning ways against the Dodgers, another World Series contender, would definitely provide a boost to Vogt's squad. The first-year manager has come in and helped revitalize the club following the retirement of Terry Francona. So far, it seems like the Vogt hire was an excellent one.
The starting pitching staff has an excellent blend of youth and experience, as the rotation is usually the Guardians' calling card. Over the past few years, they've developed many big-league starters. That includes current rotation stalwarts like Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams. The team has also acquired veterans Alex Cobb and Matthew Boyd, both of whom are also paying off nicely thus far. Boyd outdueled the Dodgers' Landon Knack in Friday night's 3-1 win at Dodger Stadium.
For as good as Clase has been, a potential return for Karinchak would only be a boon for Cleveland. The right-hander has been a valuable late innings arm in the past for the Guardians, and routinely helped set up Clase in the past. If he can return to form, particularly the form he displayed in 2021-22, he would be a very valuable addition to their bullpen. As Cleveland pushes towards another postseason berth, the more talent they have, the better they should be.
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