It's been a strange year for the Cleveland Guardians.
After going to the American League Championship Series last year, the Guardians stumbled through the first half of the season, approaching the trade deadline with a sub-.500 record. To make matters worse, two Cleveland pitchers have been placed on MLB's restricted list amid gambling investigations.
Through it all, the Guardians came out of the deadline on fire. They won three straight seasons to start August, including a sweep of the New York Mets to pull themselves right back into the playoff race. Though Cleveland spent the weekend losing three straight to the Atlanta Braves, it is still the first team out of the hunt in the American League Wild Card race.
There are a host of reasons why the Guardians are suddenly postseason contenders. Jose Ramirez is having his typical superstar season and Gavin Williams has turned it on over the last couple months. Also, new bullpen additions Nic Enright and Erik Sabrowski have been outstanding.
It all matters. But down the stretch, no pitcher will have more pressure on him than Cade Smith. And early returns for Cleveland are promising.
Cade Smith is suddenly the Guardians' most important reliever
Smith wasn't supposed to be the Guardians' closer, but that's the role he earned when Clase went on the restricted list. Manager Stephen Vogt originally planned to go closer-by-committee, but Smith has forced himself into the ninth-inning role. And, as any reliever will tell you, a move to the ninth inning isn't like just going from the seventh to the eighth.
“Anybody can walk across a four by six table,” Vogt explained to the media last week. “But you put the table up 3,000 feet in the air, who’s going to walk across it? That’s what pitching in the ninth is. That’s where the pressure is. It’s three outs, but it’s the last three outs of the game.”
Smith has performed admirably in his new role. He hasn't given up a run in his last nine appearances and has a 0.69 ERA since July 22 — six days before Clase lost his roster spot. He also has three saves and three wins in that span.
“Cade’s Cade. No matter the spot, or situation, nothing is too big for him,” Vogt added, per Tommy Wild of SI Now. “He’s just embraced pitching later in games, not being the fireman, now getting a more traditional back end role. He has handled it unbelievably, and I’m excited to see what he going to do in the future.”
It should be no surprise that Smith has graded as one of the most effective relief pitchers in baseball this year — not quite at the level Clase produced last year, but that's an impossibly high bar. And while his numbers, on the surface, look like they've taken a dip from last year, there reason to believe a lot of that are empty calories.
His ERA, for example, is higher in 2025 (2.62) vs. 2024 (1.91). Opponents are also hitting 10 points higher against him than they were last year, with his strikeout rate down a tick and his walk rate up. But look closer at the contact he is producing. Opponents' barrel rate is down significantly (3.7% vs. 8.4%) while their exit velocity and hard hit rate have both dropped.
And while he isn't striking quite as many players out, his strikeout rate is still 32.3%, which is one of the best marks in baseball.
Smith has been excellent and he's only getting better.
