The Cleveland Guardians are running out of time with a pair of injured players as Opening Day nears.
A week from Thursday, the Cleveland Guardians will be taking on the Seattle Mariners for their first official game of the 2026 season. While many pieces are starting to fall into place with Cleveland’s roster, the Guardians still have some decisions to make, too.
As Cleveland works on making those final decisions, the status and availability of two injured Guardians are still up in the air: George Valera and Hunter Gaddis.
On Thursday, manager Stephen Vogt said, “They're progressing, day by day, [but] we're running out of time. We realize that. And so we may have to make some decisions soon.”
That isn’t the most comforting update from Cleveland’s skipper about the possibility of their status
Gaddis hasn’t pitched in a Spring Training game in nearly three weeks. His last outing came on February 27th against the Chicago Cubs, when the reliever struck out two batters in an inning of work.
After this appearance, Gaddis experienced right forearm discomfort. Thankfully, the imaging came back clear, and he was recently back to throwing off a mound, but it’s still unclear just how far away Gaddis is from being ready to pitch in a big-league game.
Feb 24, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfielder George Valera against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesIf Gaddis isn’t ready for Opening Day, that would open up the opportunity for a pitcher such as Colin Holderman, Connor Brogdon, or Rule 5 Draft Pick Peyton Pallette to all but lock in a spot in the bullpen heading into the season.
As for Valera, he has been out of the Guardians’ lineup since March 10 with a right calf strain. Vogt said on multiple occasions just how happy he was to see the outfielder healthy and moving freely, and now this injury is another hurdle for him to overcome.
Valera was having a solid Spring Training before landing on the sidelines. The power hitter has a .833 OPS with a home run and two doubles in 24 at-bats.
Assuming Valera starts the season on the injured list, it could open a spot for veteran Stuart Fairchild or rookie Petey Halpin to make the roster, or the Guardians could opt to give it to Nolan Jones to give him one more chance to prove he could be a solid fourth outfielder.
As Vogt mentioned, the Guardians don’t have time on their side with these injuries, so it’ll be interesting to see what decisions the team makes in the coming days.
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