It has been reported that the Guardians are signing relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong to their Bullpen. He was signed to a one-year, 5.5 million contract. The contract also includes a mutual option for 2027.
Armstrong, 35, is coming off a career year for the Rangers in 2025. He pitched in 71 games and had a 2.31 ERA. He also saved nine games, more than double his previous career high. Armstrong is a well-traveled player, having played for eight different clubs over the course of his career. This will actually be his second stint with the franchise, as he was drafted by the Indians in the 18th round of the 2011 draft.
Armstrong made his major league debut in 2015 for the Indians. He played for the Indians from 2015-2017, before moving on to the Mariners, Orioles, Rays, Marlins, Cardinals, Cubs and Rangers. Earlier in his career, Armstrong was what you would call a “Quad A” pitcher, spending a lot of time shuffling between Triple-A and the major leagues. Armstrong really hit his stride last year, though.
If there is one concern that I may have with Armstrong, it is that he tends to follow up a good year with a bad year. Take his 2020 season with Baltimore. He pitched to a 1.80 ERA, albeit in a small sample size of 14 games. He followed it up in 2021 with a 6.75 ERA and was released in the middle of the season by the Orioles. This also occurred between the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He went from a 1.38 ERA and 1.7 WAR (a career high at the time) to being barely above replacement level in 2024 (0.2 WAR). Let’s hope for the Guardians’ sake that Armstrong avoids this trend in 2026.
Armstrong is a versatile pitcher who can help the Guardians in multiple ways. He pitched as an opener for the Rays, an organization keen on employing this strategy. The Guardians used openers towards the end of the 2025 season to help manage the workloads of their starting pitchers. He may have been signed with that in mind. Armstrong is also a candidate for higher leverage innings as well. He has 17 career saves and has pitched in the postseason with the Rays in both 2022 and 2023.
Armstrong has a four-pitch arsenal (four-seam fastball, cutter, slider, sweeper) that he uses fairly evenly to throw hitters off. This should play well in a bullpen that will be without Emmanuel Clase in 2026 due to some pretty serious pitch rigging accusations. Cade Smith figures to slot into the closer’s role, but there is an opportunity behind him for 7th and 8th inning work. The Guardians figure to be betting (no pun intended) on the upside Armstrong showed in 2025. Time will tell if this is a good signing or if Armstrong reverts to a league-average pitcher.
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