One of the Cleveland Guardians' best relievers could be back sooner rather than later.
The Cleveland Guardians sent out Hunter Gaddis at the top of the eighth inning on Monday night to face the top of New York’s Yankees order in a one-run ballgame.
Gaddis, of course, has been one of the Guardians’ best setup pitchers, but with Trent Grisham and Ben Rice being left-handed hitters, the ideal matchup would have been to have a southpaw on the mound; someone such as Erik Sabrowski.
Cleveland has missed Sabrowski’s presence on the mound over the last few weeks as he was sidelined with what the team is calling left elbow inflammation.
Considering Sabrowski's history with a pair of Tommy John surgeries during his baseball career, this trip to the injured list was initially a worrisome one, but even Sabrowski called it the best-case scenario when the MRI results came back.
Even though the Guardians desperately missed Sabrowski on Monday, there is some good news on the horizon. Manager Stephen Vogt gave an encouraging update on Sabrowski’s progress and his health ahead of Cleveland’s matchup against the Yankees on Tuesday.
"He threw a bullpen yesterday [Monday], and it went really well," said Cleveland's skipper.
"He'll probably throw another bullpen, and then we'll determine what the next steps are after that... Like we talked about when the news came out, we felt like the MRI was good news. So, this is just the appropriate progression to get him back."
The best takeaway from Vogt's comments on Sabrowski are that, "He's feeling really good."
It sounds like a rehab assignment could be in Sabrowski’s near future if everything continues to go as planned.
Jul 12, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Erik Sabrowski (62) pitches during the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn ImagesGetting Sabrowski back in the bullpen would be a huge boost for the Guardians. Not only is he their best left-handed reliever, but Sabrowski has also simply been one of Cleveland’s best pitchers out of the bullpen over the last few seasons.
So far in 2026, Sabrowski owns a 1.71 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Even more impressive, he also has a strikeout rate of 36.1 percent and a whiff rate of 47 percent.
Again, with Sabrowski’s history, the Guardians would be smart to be cautious getting Sabrowski back on a mound too soon, but this is an undeniably encouraging update on the pitcher.
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