Cleveland Sports Forum

Rhys Hoskins nearing game action; outfield and bullpen battles take shape: Guardians takeaways

Updated: Feb. 26, 2026, 2:24 p.m.|Published: Feb. 26, 2026, 2:23 p.m.

By Joe Noga, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Veteran first baseman Rhys Hoskins is on the verge of making his spring debut.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Hoskins is currently scheduled to serve as the designated hitter Friday when Cleveland faces the Cubs at Goodyear Ballpark, pending final check-ins with the club’s medical and strength staffs.

“Right now he’s slotted to DH tomorrow,” Vogt said. “He’s got some things he’s got to check today to make sure that we all feel good about it and he feels good about it, but he’s very close to getting in games.”

Hoskins agreed to a minor league contract that would pay him $1.5 million if he makes the big league club, and arrived after camp had already opened. But Vogt emphasized that the veteran’s experience allows him to guide his own ramp-up process.

“It’s very different,” Vogt said of Hoskins joining late. “But we’re talking about a guy that’s got eight years in the big leagues. He knows what he needs to be ready to play. He’s driven a lot of his timetable as well as talking with our medical staff.”

Hoskins hit .237 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI in 90 games for Milwaukee last season while missing time with a thumb injury.

Angel Martínez focused on the outfield

The Guardians value Angel Martínez’s versatility, but this spring his primary focus will be the outfield — particularly center field.

Vogt said Martinez will continue to maintain his ability to play on the infield dirt, but the organization wants most of his developmental reps to come on the grass.

“We’ve really seen him grow in the outfield,” Vogt said. “We want him to put a majority of his focus into his outfield play.”

Last season, Martinez started 87 games in center field and one game in right field. He also moved to left field late in one game. The Dominican native started 25 games at second base.

Martinez has also added strength this winter, part of a broader maturation process for players who debuted young (age 22) and are now learning how to build their bodies at ages 24–26.

He’s expected to see less time in center field as the Guardians transition Steven Kwan over from left, while also logging reps at the corners as the outfield competition sorts itself out.

Stuart Fairchild competing — and representing his family in WBC

Stuart Fairchild remains firmly in the mix for an outfield spot despite his departure from camp for Tokyo, where he will play for Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic.

Vogt said he met Fairchild for lunch during the winter and described him as a strong clubhouse presence who understands he’s competing for a job.

Fairchild is taking advantage of an opportunity to represent his family’s heritage at the WBC. His mother immigrated to the United States from Taiwan at age 12.

Vogt said the organization supports players taking part in the tournament, and expects to slot Fairchild right back into competition upon his return.

“He just wants to help us win games,” Vogt said.

Petey Halpin’s swing adjustment worth watching

Petey Halpin made a brief impression last season as a late-game defensive replacement during Cleveland’s furious 15 1/2 game September comeback to win the AL Central. Also utilized as a baserunning weapon, Halpin was an intriguing addition, but the Guardians are eager to see more offensively this spring.

Vogt said Halpin made a “pretty significant” swing adjustment over the winter, aimed at shortening his move and improving repeatability.

“He’s got some power,” Vogt said. “But (we want him to) just be able to hit the ball all over the field and be able to repeat the move a lot more.”

With limited big league exposure so far, Halpin is expected to receive extended looks in Cactus League play.

Doug Nikhazy, Franco Aleman in bullpen competition

Left-hander Doug Nikhazy showed flashes in his limited major league time last season — both struggles and promise.

Nikhazy made his big league debut last season in the second game of a doubleheader against Boston on April 26. He allowed six earned runs on five hits and walked six batters in three innings before he was sent back to Triple-A Columbus. But the left-hander turned in an impressive inning out of the bullpen when he made a brief return July 4 against the Tigers. Nikhazy tossed a scoreless inning, striking out two of the three batters he faced in a 2-1 loss to Detroit.

Vogt pointed to Nikhazy’s strong first impression in last year’s camp, a difficult debut start, and a strong follow-up bullpen outing as evidence of a young pitcher navigating the typical ups and downs of early development.

“Doug is a really good pitcher,” Vogt said. “We have a lot of belief and faith in him that he’s going to impact our team for a long time.”

The message to Nikhazy after an up-and-down introduction: keep working.

Meanwhile, Franco Aleman remains intriguing if he can stay healthy and harness his command.

Aleman’s 2025 season was derailed when he underwent sports hernia surgery during spring training. Once he made it to Triple-A, the results were inconsistent. Aleman pitched 36 2/3 innings, striking out a whopping 57 batters, but posting an alarming 7.85 ERA and a .423 batting average on balls in play.

“When Franco’s right, we see that all the elements are there,” Vogt said, citing velocity, mound presence and a strong breaking ball. Fastball command — particularly getting to the top of the zone — remains a key area of refinement, though his changeup/splitter is progressing.

Vogt indicated the organization believes Aleman is close to contributing if he can put it all together.

Rule 5 draft pick Peyton Pallette trending toward live BP

Rule 5 pick Peyton Pallette threw a bullpen session and is trending toward live batting practice this weekend.

Vogt said the club is still getting to know Pallette and will rely heavily on pitching coach Carl Willis and the medical staff to build him up appropriately.

“Once we feel he’s ready for games, we’ll get him back in there,” Vogt said.

Pallette was sidelined early in camp with right shoulder fatigue. There is no firm timetable yet for a return to game action, but Pallette’s progression toward live BP suggests he’s moving in the right direction.

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Juan Brito, Petey Halpin go deep for Guardians, but Cal Raleigh’s two doubles power Mariners to 8-7 spring training win

Updated: Feb. 26, 2026, 6:26 p.m.|Published: Feb. 26, 2026, 6:03 p.m.

By Joe Noga, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cal Raleigh drove in a pair of runs and Seattle capitalized on Cleveland’s early defensive mistakes to hand the Guardians an 8-7 loss Thursday in Cactus League action at Peoria Sports Complex.

Cleveland got home runs from Juan Brito and Petey Halpin but couldn’t overcome a slow start from Joey Cantillo, who allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits in 1 1/3 innings. The 26-year-old lefty faced 10 batters and threw 47 pitches in his second spring start.

Seattle jumped ahead early after Cantillo allowed three consecutive doubles, including Randy Arozarena’s deep drive to center that Angel Martínez couldn’t pull down at the warning track. The ball bounced off the wall for a two-run double that gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead.

Cantillo struck out Luke Raley before manager Stephen Vogt pulled him after 21 pitches in the first inning. The lefty used the re-entry rule in the second but ran into more trouble when Kyle Manzardo’s fielding error at first base allowed Connor Joe to reach. A walk and single loaded the bases for Brendan Donovan’s RBI groundout before Raleigh added a sacrifice fly to push Seattle’s advantage to 4-0.

Raleigh finished with two doubles and three RBIs in four plate appearances. The American League MVP runner-up from last season also threw out Martínez attempting to steal third base in the first inning after the Cleveland outfielder had opened the game with a leadoff double.

Martínez, who started 87 games in center field last season, is competing for playing time as All-Star Steven Kwan moves from left field to center.

“Angel’s versatility, obviously, is what has allowed him to play a lot,” Vogt said before the game. “We’ve really seen him grow in the outfield, and the ability to come onto the dirt and play infield is still a skill we want him to keep, but we want him to put a majority of his focus into his outfield play. Center field, mostly, but he’s also going to get some time on the corners.”

Brito cut into Seattle’s lead in the fourth inning, launching a changeup from Cooper Criswell 415 feet over the center field wall for his first home run of the spring. The two-run shot followed Manzardo’s leadoff walk. Brito entered the game with one hit in six at-bats this spring after tying for the club lead with four home runs in 37 at-bats last season.

Halpin’s three-run homer in the seventh off Ryan Loutos trimmed Seattle’s lead to 7-5. The blast came after Milan Tolentino’s leadoff single and Jose Devers was hit by a pitch.

“Petey made a pretty significant swing adjustment (this offseason), and so we’re excited to watch that play out,” Vogt said. “Just to shorten up a little bit. He’s got some power, but just to be able to hit the ball all over the field and be able to repeat the move a lot more.”

Halpin, who added a base hit in the ninth, appeared in six games down the stretch in 2025 primarily as a late-game defensive replacement and pinch-runner as Cleveland rallied from 15 1/2 games back to win the American League Central Division.

Matt Festa worked a scoreless third inning, stranding Luke Raley at third base with a strikeout of Michael Arroyo. Festa is preparing to leave for Team Italy’s camp in Port Charlotte, Florida, before heading to Houston for Pool B play in the World Baseball Classic beginning March 7.

Doug Nikhazy allowed two runs in the sixth inning on a leadoff double by Arroyo, an RBI triple by Colt Emmerson, and an RBI double by Luis Suisbel. The lefty, who threw two scoreless innings against the Reds in his spring debut Saturday, escaped further damage by retiring Raleigh, walking Julio Rodriguez, and getting Arozarena to ground into a double play.

“Doug is a really good pitcher and we have a lot of belief and faith in him that he’s going to impact our team for a long time,” Vogt said. “Development looks different for everybody. Very few people come up, make their debut and just roll. That’s super, super rare.”

The Guardians added a run in the eighth on an RBI single by Devers after Kahlil Watson singled and moved into scoring position with his first stolen base of the spring.

Mariners No. 16 prospect Brock Rodden took Guardians righty Tommy Mace deep for a solo home run in the eighth inning. It was Rodden’s first spring homer.

Cleveland dropped its third straight game and fell to 4-3 in Cactus League play. The Guardians face the Cubs at 3:05 p.m. Friday at Goodyear Ballpark.

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Keith Law’s latest list of impact prospects should give Guardians fans mixed feelings

By Henry Palattella

33 minutes ago

The youth movement is here to stay for the Cleveland Guardians and isn’t going to be going anywhere any time soon.

In fact, the Guardians projected starting lineup on Opening Day includes just three post-arbitration players in the form of Steven Kwan, José Ramírez and the newly-signed Rhys Hoskins.

But not all of those young players are created equal.

In fact, The Athletic’s Keith Law thinks that a couple of them are set to rise above the others when it comes to the 2026 season.

Keith Law’s latest assessment of impact prospects should give Guardians fans mixed feelings

Earlier this week Law published a new story outlining 20 prospects that he thinks could make the biggest impact in the 2026 season and had two Guardians on the list in Chase DeLauter and Parker Messick.

DeLauter came in as the No. 6 prospect on the list, while Messick was the No. 13 prospect. Travis Bazzana was nowhere to be found.

Law had a lot of good things to say about DeLauter, writing that he could be a Rookie of the Year front runner so long as he’s able to stay healthy. Injuries have been a huge part of DeLauter’s career journey so far, as he has yet to play in more than 60 games in any season since being drafted by the Guardians.

DeLauter’s injury history popped up yesterday when he was a late scratch from the Guardians’ spring training lineup on Wednesday due to lower body soreness, but it seems like the injury won’t be anything too serious.

But if DeLauter stays healthy, he should get plenty of opportunities to earn everyday playing time in a Guardians’ lineup that’s in serious need of offensive help.

Meanwhile Messick was ranked as the No. 13 prospect, largely due to what he did last season. Law’s rankings are based primarily around prospects who could make an impact in 2026, not just pure prospect status. Messick had a great minor league season last year and impressed in his late season cameo with the Guardians last season.

That impressed Law so much that he thinks Messick could end this season as the Guardians’ No. 3 starter thanks to the fact that he’s a pretty complete young starter as opposed to a more raw pitching prospect.

But just because those two were included on the list doesn’t mean that Law’s list was all rosy when it came to the Guardians. The biggest downside of the list came in the form of Travis Bazzana being left off the list.

While we don’t know if that omission was due to the fact that Law doesn’t think that Bazzana will get enough of a chance to make an impression in 2026 or that his season will go so poorly it won’t matter, his omission from the list speaks volumes.

Earlier this offseason, Law wrote that Bazzana may “not be the impact player” that some are expecting, and it seems like he’s never been a fan of Bazzana’s contact-first approach. Bazzana will get his first chance to prove that assessment wrong during the World Baseball Classic, which could potentially serve as a springboard for a successful 2026.

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New Pitch Alert! Tim Herrin is Throwing a Cutter.

by Tommy Pecoraro

Feb 26, 2026, 9:00 AM CST

On the 23rd Tim Herrin made his first appearance of the 2026 Spring, and he brought along a new pitch to talk about. The new cutter is just one of a few changes in Herrin’s game that he showed off a few days ago.

Take a look at these Pitch Plots taken from Herrin’s most recent outing, and his entire 2025 Pitch Plot. (Provided by TJStats)

Outing on 23rd






2025






New Cutter

The cutter adds an new average-to-plus shape on his pitch plot, settling in a previously barren quadrant. The velocity on this pitch is very encouraging, the average cutter from a LHP is 88.4, compared to Herrin’s 94.8. Typically there is a pretty significant drop-off between Fastball IVB and Cutter IVB, so I honestly don’t know how to interpret those two pitches having around 13.5 IVB each. The cutter has a very unique shape to it, only a few lefties have cutters with 10+ IVB.

I really like this fit for Tim Herrin, not only is a possible weapon against RHH, but oftentimes pitchers with poor command are able to lean on their cutter. Impossible to tell yet if this cutter will help in Tim Herrin’s occasional difficulty throwing strikes, but I hope to see him use this pitch more in the spring.

Higher Arm Slot

Also depicted in the plots above is a slightly higher arm angle in 2026 compared to before. It is only a shift in 5 degrees, but I would guess that higher release is helping Herrin manipulate and command his cutter. This shift brings all of his pitch release heights up a couple inches, but it also lowers his extension. Herrin was around average in extension before, now he is slightly below average.

I anticipate that this will lower Herrin’s platoon risk, however there’s a lot to wait and see before I form any real judgement on this adjustment.

Better Slider

In the past Tim Herrin threw a pure gyro slider that moved arm side as often as it did glove side, but this new slider looks much better. His slider this Spring was thrown on a different spin axis than ever before, and there is a new shape to it.

Herrin added 4 inches of glove side break, which should do wonders to improve his Slider’s lackluster returns in 2025. Herrin’s slider was juiced last season as it surrendered a 52% hard hit rate. TJStats’ model has his new slider at a 102 stuff+ vs 2025’s slider which was 99 stuff+.

As one of a few LHP in the Guardians bullpen, Herrin will likely be very important to this teams success. After just a taste of the new Tim, I am wanting more!

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Petey Halpin turned a spring training miscue into a statement home run — and the Guardians are paying close attention

Updated: Feb. 27, 2026, 12:01 p.m.|Published: Feb. 27, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

By Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Spring training isn’t just about what you do right. It’s about what you do after you get it wrong.

That lesson played out twice in Peoria on Thursday — on opposite ends of the spectrum — and the latest episode of the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast captured it in vivid detail. Beat reporters Paul Hoynes and Joe Noga broke down two contrasting moments from young Guardians outfielders competing for spots on a crowded roster. One was a cautionary tale. The other was a blueprint.

First, the cautionary tale: Angel Martinez.

Martinez entered Thursday’s Cactus League game against the Mariners with something to prove. With Steven Kwan expected to absorb significant time in center field, every at-bat, every defensive rep is a job interview for a player trying to carve out a role. The game opened well — he led off with a double, a crisp, promising start. Then, in rapid succession, it all unraveled.

He was thrown out trying to steal third base by Mariners All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh. Then, later in the same inning, a fly ball to center off the bat of Randy Arozarena became a run-scoring double when Martinez lost it in the Peoria sun.

Hoynes was direct in his assessment. “Baseball 101, you don’t steal third base if you lead off the game with a double unless you’re absolutely, positively sure you’re going to be on third base. So that was mistake one. Mistake two on the double, you know, it’s a tough sun field in Peoria. He had some trouble going back on the ball last year in center field. Not a good one-two punch from Martinez yesterday. You’ve got to catch the ball.”

Catch the ball. That’s the bottom line in any era of baseball, at any level. The leadoff double proved he can hit. But in a competition for one of the final roster spots, two mistakes in one game is exactly the kind of afternoon that lodges itself in a manager’s memory well into the final days of March.

Then there’s the other story from the same afternoon: Petey Halpin.

Halpin had his own defensive miscue. A line drive from top Mariners prospect Colt Emerson spun him around in center field three different directions and rolled into a triple, extending Seattle’s lead. Not great timing for a player with an already uncertain path to the big-league club out of spring training.

But what Halpin did next changed the entire conversation.

In the top of the seventh inning, he stepped in and hit a three-run home run.

Hoynes loved it. “That’s a good sign. You make a mistake, you’re a young player. You get turned every way but loose out there and then you come right back and, and hit a three run homer. I like that. That shows you’re competitive. He’s got a little fire in him and that he was kind of kicking himself and came back and tried to atone for that. You know, that’s what good players do.”


What good players do. Simple as that.

Halpin’s odds of being on the opening day roster remain slim given the competition in Cleveland’s outfield. But Stephen Vogt — a communicative, detail-oriented manager — is going to keep that moment in the back of his mind. And in a roster battle this deep, leaving the right impression might be the only thing a young player can truly control.

Same game. Same afternoon. Two completely different stories. One is a warning. The other is a playbook.

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Joey Cantillo struggled in his second spring start, but his confidence about a spot in the Guardians rotation tells a bigger story

Updated: Feb. 27, 2026, 12:05 p.m.|Published: Feb. 27, 2026, 12:04 p.m.

By Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The box score looked ugly. Four runs allowed in an inning and a third. A trip to the mound before he could even escape the first inning. By any surface-level reading, Joey Cantillo’s latest Cactus League outing in Peoria was not the spring start anyone in Cleveland was hoping for.

But don’t let the numbers rattle you — and if you’ve already caught the latest episode of the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, you know exactly why.

On Thursday, the Guardians dropped their third straight Cactus League game to the Mariners, 8-7. Cantillo was at the center of the early trouble, running into pitch-count problems before getting through the first inning and triggering the spring training reentry rule — not something you want to see from a projected starter. His final line: 1 1/3 innings, four runs (two earned), four hits.

Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com’s longtime Guardians beat reporter, delivered a candid but measured assessment on the podcast. “He got his work in. You’d like to see him pitch two clean innings, but I like his attitude. This is spring training. I’m working on stuff... I kind of like the confidence in the back of his mind that he feels he’s got a lock on one of the starter’s positions.”

That word — confidence — is the real headline from Cantillo’s outing. He isn’t pitching scared. He’s reportedly experimenting with a sinker alongside his regular repertoire, taking a developmental approach rather than trying to dominate early-spring competition. He’s treating February like February — which sounds obvious, but is harder to execute than you’d think when your name is penciled into a major league rotation.

Only Cantillo doesn’t seem to feel any pressure about that rotation spot at all. And that attitude is worth paying attention to.

Joe Noga, co-host and fellow cleveland.com beat reporter, steered the conversation toward the metric he believed mattered far more than the ERA. “The results, maybe not necessarily the most important thing here in terms of what the numbers show. The big number that’s important is 47. That’s the number of pitches he threw. So, he’s starting to get stretched out a little bit and in a couple more outings and he should be built up to where he needs to be.”

Forty-seven pitches. That’s the progress report Cantillo’s camp is tracking right now — not the box score, not the innings count. For a starter building his arm back into shape in early spring, pitch count progression is everything. And by that measure, the trajectory is pointing in the right direction.

Noga also provided crucial context about Cantillo’s 2024 campaign — a frustrating stretch spent bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen, before locking in as a starter in September. In 2025, with a clear path to a starting spot apparently ahead of him, the consistency and mental clarity that come with a defined role could unlock a version of Cantillo that Cleveland fans haven’t fully seen yet.

As Hoynes noted, we haven’t seen him on a roll yet, and that word yet is doing a lot of heavy lifting.

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GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- If we were at a different point on the calendar, perhaps Chase DeLauter would have remained in the Guardians’ lineup in recent days. But it’s not even March, so he and the team took the most sensible approach after he experienced a bit of lower body soreness this week.

The good news is DeLauter (who was a late scratch from Wednesday’s starting lineup) noted Friday morning that he’s feeling fine. He described what he’s encountered as “nothing crazy” and being "just a little tight in the legs,” mixed with a high running workload.

Rather than push through it and risk an actual injury, DeLauter and the team exercised caution. The 24-year-old expressed optimism he could return to play within a few days. His workload Friday was slated to include participating in team stretch and hitting in batting practice at Cleveland’s player development complex.

“Try to keep it a two-, three-day thing, not a six-week, two-month thing," DeLauter said. “It’s still February. There's no rush. I've got probably about 30 or 40 at-bats already under my belt, just between [live batting practice] and games already. So there's no rush there.

“I think the last couple days, just kind of take it easy.”

DeLauter (MLB Pipeline’s No. 46 overall prospect) has played in two Cactus League games thus far, on Saturday versus the Brewers and on Monday against the D-backs. He’s vying to make his first Opening Day roster this spring, and the Guardians are excited about what he could contribute to their lineup in 2026.

The Guardians noted all winter they would be thoughtful about DeLauter’s workload during Spring Training given his physical history. This situation has been right in line with that plan, and the club is happy DeLauter said something. The calendar is on their side here.

“Thankfully, it is still February,” DeLauter said. “There's no rush to really get me back out there. If this was the regular season, I’d probably have been playing the last couple days. But I think [it’s] just trying to figure out how to mitigate what's going on.

Manager Stephen Vogt described DeLauter’s situation as day to day. The Guardians want to make sure they stress test things before he returns to game action, versus them just throwing him back into the lineup.

“It's early,” Vogt said. [We’re] thankful that he spoke up and said he was sore. We don't want to push any of our players too much too fast, and particularly with Chase. We want to make sure that he's feeling as close to at his best every time he goes out there during Spring Training.”

The Guardians encourage players to speak up when they’re dealing with something, whether it’s minor or not. Vogt noted how much things have changed in that regard since even early in his playing career.

“Now it's like, ‘No, we need to know how you're feeling,’” Vogt said, “because our medical staff is so good at treating and preventing things from getting too much. We need to know every little thing that's bothering you so that we can keep you on the field.

“Whereas I think the old perception was, ‘If we know something about you, we will keep you off the field.’ That narrative has completely flipped.”

Tim Stebbins covers the Guardians for MLB.com.

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