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Cleveland Guardians have pitching decisions to make ahead of 2024 MLB playoffs
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- Cleveland Guardians have pitching decisions to make ahead of 2024 MLB playoffs
CLEVELAND — One aspect of having your playoff spot locked up — and the division title , and a first-round-series bye , for that matter — is that it affords you the ability to line up your pitching as much as possible leading into the postseason.
That becomes a bit trickier when the final series of the regular season is against a team you very well could face a week later. The games this weekend don't mean much. The games next week and beyond mean everything.
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The Guardians know they'll be one of the top two seeds, along with the New York Yankees . The most likely scenario is they end up as the No. 2 seed, which means they'd face the winner of the three-game wild card series matchup between the No. 3 seed and the No. 6 seed.
The Houston Astros are locked into the No. 3 seed. And the Astros are in Cleveland this weekend , which has brought some gamesmanship into the equation for both teams, as neither wants to throw every starting pitcher who could take the mound for a playoff game against the other.
Due to that, the Guardians shuffled their rotational plans, starting Joey Cantillo — who was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but Cleveland threw a bullpen game that nearly turned into a perfect game instead — on Friday. Ben Lively will pitch Saturday and Gavin Williams will pitch Sunday, but it'll be after an opener, as they want to see how he does coming out of the bullpen.
That last bit is a clue about how Williams might fit into their postseason roster plans.
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Guardians pitching plans entering 2024 ALDS a question mark
Cleveland Guardians starter Matthew Boyd (16) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 21 in St. Louis.
Regardless of seeding, the Guardians will open their 2024 postseason Oct. 5 at Progressive Field with Game 1 of the ALDS, a 5-game series. They'll likely only need, at most, three starting pitchers. Others, like Williams, could be an option in the bullpen. Including the relievers, the Guardians currently have about 15 pitchers vying for 12 or 13 spots.
"He hasn't done that here yet, and that could be a role," said manager Stephen Vogt of Williams. "Obviously we have a lot of questions that we need answered still in the regular season, and we want to be prepared for any and every scenario that could happen."
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Tanner Bibee and Matthew Boyd won't pitch again in the regular season. The Guardians don't exactly benefit from the Astros hitters seeing them, and there's nothing left to prove (plus Boyd is coming off of Tommy John surgery). They'll instead throw simulated games leading into the ALDS. Vogt noted that no decisions have been made official yet, but it looks like they should be headed for roles as starters.
Alex Cobb , meanwhile, continues to rehab from a blister. He threw a bullpen session Thursday, and it remains to be seen if he's ready and, if so, what role he will play.
Lively, Williams and Joey Cantillo are also in that mix. Who starts? Who comes out of the bullpen? Who doesn't make the ALDS roster at all?
"Ben's had a phenomenal year, and we wouldn't be here without him," Vogt said of Lively. "So we feel confident that Ben's ready to handle any role that may come his way."
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How many starting pitchers willo the Guardians carry on 2024 playoff roster?
Cleveland Guardians starter Tanner Bibee (28) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 18 in Cleveland.
There are two questions when it comes to the Guardians starting pitchers and the playoffs: who is on the roster, and how much will they pitch?
If Bibee and Boyd are indeed starters, the third is a question mark, and there might not even be a third if the Guardians opt to go with a bullpen game.
They have the game's best bullpen by a wide margin. It's no secret they'll lean into it more in October. Starters likely won't have long leashes before being pulled from the game at the first sign of trouble, or when the lineup rolls over a second or third time, although Bibee could be an exception.
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The Guardians could also effectively piggyback starters together, with each pitching two or three innings and then turning to the bullpen.
It's all about efficiency and flexibility. More than any other team, the Guardians might steer away from the traditional setup of every starting pitcher going six to seven innings. It could be more about getting through the lineup once, maybe twice, and then going to the bullpen, which is possible with the extra days off built into the playoff schedule.
There is a lot of fluidity with this situation, both in roster construction and in how each pitcher is deployed.
"I think we have to manage each game for that game," Vogt said. "I think where we can get into trouble is when we script it too much. You have to watch the game and see how it goes. The luxury we do have is we have one of the best, if not the best bullpen, in baseball and we trust all of those guys."
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Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians 2024 MLB playoff pitching staff uncertain
