The Cleveland Guardians are out of the AL Championship Series, and the offseason has already turned to pitching. With a logjam in the position players department, the club is expected to look outside the organization for arms, and Caleb Ferguson and Kris Bubic have emerged as two names that fit the search.
That matters now because the Guardians do not appear to be shopping at the top of the market for Tarik Skubal, which pushes attention toward more practical options. Ferguson, a left-handed reliever, posted a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 postseason innings in October 2026, with one walk and nine strikeouts, then finished the regular season with a 3.36 ERA between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals. Over his career, he has a 3.51 ERA in 249 major league innings.
Bubic offers a different kind of appeal. The 29-year-old left-hander put up a 2.71 ERA in 162.2 innings between 2023 and 2025 and struck out 171 hitters in that span. In 2026, he logged a 4.11 ERA in nine starts and 50.1 innings with the Kansas City Royals, was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and then posted a 0.00 ERA in 4.2 bullpen innings. That split matters because it gives Cleveland a choice: chase him as a starter with upside, or as a reliever who can bridge innings if the club wants to keep the role flexible.
The catch is that Bubic's best argument and his biggest concern are the same one. He is currently healthy, but the question hanging over him is how often he gets hurt, which is what can make a contract for a pitcher like him tricky. A shorter deal would protect the Guardians if durability becomes an issue again, while a longer commitment would only make sense if they believe the health risk is fading. For Cleveland, the next move is not about whether pitching should be the priority. It is about which left-hander fits the budget, the role and the level of risk the club is willing to carry into 2026.
