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The Cleveland Guardians haven’t stopped making moves to bolster their bullpen heading into 2026.
After signing four right-handed pitchers: Colin Holderman, Connor Brogdon, Peyton Pallette and Jack Carey, the Guardians made a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays to add a lefty into the mix.
On Wednesday, Dec. 17, the Guardians and Blue Jays engaged in a trade that sent left-handed pitcher Justin Bruihl to Cleveland in exchange for cash considerations. The, which needed a hole in the roster opened, resulted in the Guardians’ front office moving on from power-hitter Jhonkensy Noel, designating him for assignment.
Bruihl, who’s 29 years old, initially signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2025 season, having a somewhat decent year. He tossed 13.2 innings for an ERA of 5.27, averaging an impressive 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
His best season in the league came back in his first two years in the league, 2021 and 2022, with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He recorded a 1-2 record with ERAs of 2.89 and 3.80 across 45 games of action. He also tacked on WHIPs of 1.07 and 1.18.
Since then, he’s had many ups and downs, but the major issue is allowing walks and hits for extra bases.
He’s intriguing, mainly due to his extension, which comes in at the 81st percentile. That’s well above the average around the league. Cleveland’s pitching staff, led by Carl Willis, loves to bring in individuals like this who can add to their velocity with a big extension.
Bruihl’s pitching consists of a sinker and sweeper as his two main options, using those 51% and 42% of the time. His sinker comes through the plate at 90.2mph and his sweeper is at a mark of 87.4mph. His third pitch, which is a rare one to see, is what brings him some speed and movement in the form of a cutter. He uses it just 7% of the time and hits an average speed of 87.5mph.
All three of his pitches lean towards the top right of the zone, seemingly a favorite spot in the strike zone.
There’s a lot to be excited about when looking at a lefty of his magnitude. When combining his three pitches with his extension, he’s got a good balance of making batters miss with speed and movement.
Cleveland’s pitching staff has routinely turned bullpen pitchers around, and Bruihl has a chance to be the next success story.
The Guardians have a lot of time to still bolster their bullpen and hopefully other areas of their roster throughout the offseason, but for now, they’ve seemingly got some of their guys lined up for the upcoming campaign.
