Guardians Have a Big Question to Answer in Their Rotation

Joey Cantillo was a key piece in the Cleveland Guardians’ historic comeback last September, and he’s given the team some big starts throughout the 2026 season, too. In fact, his 2.70 ERA in April was one of the best in the team’s rotation.

With all that said, Cantillo’s recent production on the mound has not been up to par. Over Cantillo’s two starts in September, he’s allowed 12 hits, eight earned runs, and issued seven walks in just 7.2 innings of work.

There are several factors that could play into the 26-year-old’s recent struggles, one of them being that he’s in the final stretch of his first full season as a starting pitcher and has already blown past his career-high in innings pitched as a big-leaguer.

However, the Guardians must still face reality with where they are in the season and how Cantillo has pitched.

As Cleveland continues to fight for one of the final Wild Card spots in the American League, the team has a serious question that must be answered: Are Cantillo’s services best used in the bullpen or in the rotation?

If the Guardians were going to go in a different direction with their fifth starter, they actually do have a couple of different options to choose from.

Slade Cecconi was moved to a reliever role following the Foster Griffin trade and has stayed stretched out as a multi-innings option out of the bullpen.

Logan Allen was recently optioned back down to Triple-A following Cleveland’s doubleheader earlier in the week, but has made a pair of spot starts for the Guardians in 2026.

Ben Lively is also a potential option for Cleveland. He is fully recovered from his Tommy John surgery over a year ago. The right-hander isn't on the 40-man roster, but is more than available to be added back to it. 

There’s also the prospect in Austin Peterson, who made his big-league debut over the weekend. The right-hander may have come out of the bullpen in his first taste of MLB action, but he’s a starter by trade. Peterson owns a 4.52 ERA in 21 appearances (19 starts) at Triple-A this season.

Of course, Cleveland’s skipper isn’t going to make any impulsive decisions after a tough start, but he did acknowledge that Cantillo hasn’t been as sharp over his last few appearances.

“We're going to keep talking about it, keep working,” said manager Stephen Vogt after Monday’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

“Joey's been great for us. Joey's played a huge role in where we are today. He's had a couple tough ones as of late. It's late in the year. Innings are getting up there.”

As the number of regular-season games continues to dwindle and each game carries more and more weight, it’ll be interesting to see what ends up happening with Cantillo’s spot in the rotation.