Festa agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract with the Guardians on Friday to avoid arbitration, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Festa pitched a career-high 54.2 innings in 2025 while also maintaining a solid 1.08 WHIP with a 56:15 K:BB. He also racked up 12 holds and should line up for a high-leverage role out of the bullpen once again in 2026.
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Guardians' David Fry: Lands contract from Cleveland
Rotowire
Fry (face) agreed to a one-year, $1.38 million contract with the Guardians on Friday to avoid arbitration, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Fry had a tough 2025 season, as he was initially sidelined until the end of May while recovering from an elbow injury. His season ended in late September after being hit in the face by a pitch, though that isn't expected to affect his 2026 campaign. In between, Fry struggled to a .171/.229/.363 line across 157 plate appearances.
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Guardians' Nolan Jones: Agrees to deal
Rotowire
Jones (oblique) agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Guardians on Friday to avoid arbitration, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Jones' season regular-season ended a few days early due to an oblique injury, an issue that also sidelined him for the postseason. He spent the entire 2025 season in the majors and accrued 403 plate appearances, though he managed only a .600 OPS with five homers and eight stolen bases.
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Guardians' Yorman Gomez: Protected from Rule 5 Draft
Rotowire
The Guardians selected Gomez's contract from Double-A Akron on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Gomez, who turned 23 earlier this month, logged a 3.15 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 56:19 K:BB in 45.2 innings as a starter at Double-A in 2025. He tallied 121.2 innings across Double-A and High-A and now that he's on the 40-man roster, Gomez could be a big-league rotation option in the second half of 2026, although he'll likely spend most of the year at Triple-A.
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Guardians' Kahlil Watson: Selected to 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Guardians selected Watson's contract from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Watson split the 2025 season between Double-A and Triple-A, slashing .250/.346/.467 with 16 homers, 61 RBI, 53 runs scored and 17 stolen bases over 429 plate appearances between the two levels. Now that he owns a place on Cleveland's 40-man roster, the 22-year-old outfielder is ineligible for the Rule 5 Draft and will most likely remain at Columbus for the start of the 2026 campaign.
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Guardians' Angel Genao: Shielded from Rule 5 Draft
Rotowire
The Guardians selected Genao's contract from Double-A Akron on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
One of the Guardians' top prospects, Genao missed the start of last season with a shoulder injury and never got on track after returning, logging a .259/.323/.359 slash line with two home runs and six steals in 77 games as a 21-year-old at Double-A. The switch-hitting shortstop is a strong bounce-back candidate in 2026, and while he may return to Double-A at the start of the year, he should spend the bulk of the year at Triple-A and could even make his big-league debut next summer.
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Guardians' Austin Peterson: Added to 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Guardians selected Peterson's contract from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Peterson struggled a bit after being promoted to Triple-A in June, posting a 4.27 ERA and 1.37 WHIP across 90.2 innings compared to the 1.47 ERA and 0.82 WHIP he held in 55 frames at Double-A Akron. The 26-year-old's addition to the 40-man roster will prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, but the Guardians will likely keep him in Triple-A to begin the 2026 campaign.
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Guardians' Nic Enright: DFA'd by Cleveland
Rotowire
Enright (elbow) was designated for assignment by the Guardians on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Enright loses his 40-man spot on Rule 5 deadline day after undergoing Tommy John surgery shortly after the end of the 2025 regular season. He will miss all of 2026, but Enright showed real promise before going down with a 2.03 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 31 innings out of the Cleveland bullpen, numbers which may attract a team on the other end of the competitive spectrum.
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Guardians' Emmanuel Clase: Indicted on federal charges
Rotowire
Clase was indicted Sunday on multiple federal charges related to rigging bets on pitches thrown in MLB games, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Cleveland's former closer missed the final two-plus months of the 2025 season while being investigated by MLB, and he and teammate Luis L. Ortiz are now formally being charged in federal court, with Ortiz already having been arrested earlier Sunday. The indictment alleges that the pitchers were paid to intentionally throw balls so bettors could wager on the pitches being a ball or a strike. Clase, who is a three-time All-Star and led the majors in saves in each of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, is facing a maximum of 65 years in prison if convicted on all charges, per Passan.
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Guardians' Luis L. Ortiz: Arrested in gambling probe
Rotowire
Ortiz was arrested in Boston earlier Sunday after he was indicted on charges for his alleged role in a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown in MLB games, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Fellow Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase has also been indicted, though he has yet to be taken into police custody. Citing a statement from the Department of Justice, Zack Meisel of The Athletic relays that Ortiz and Clase are facing charges of "wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy" after the two pitchers were accused of intentionally throwing balls in games so that bettors could wager on the pitches. According to Passan, prosecutors allege that Clase's involvement in the betting scheme dated back to as early as May 2023, while Ortiz was included at a later date. Ortiz has remained on administrative leave since July 3 while MLB has conducted its own sports-betting investigation. If MLB concurs with the accusations levied against Ortiz in the indictment, the 26-year-old right-hander's time in affiliated ball would most likely be over.
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Guardians' Andrew Walters: Activated from IL
Rotowire
Walters (lat) was activated from the injured list Thursday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
The move was procedurally required, but Walters is still recovering from lat surgery. It's unclear when he'll be able to return to the mound, but he had not started a rehab appearance prior to the end of the season.
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Guardians' Sam Hentges: Activated from IL
Rotowire
Hentges (shoulder) was activated from the injured list Thursday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Hentges is recovering from a pair of surgeries, the more serious of which was on his shoulder, which cost him the entire 2025 season. He is expected to be ready for spring training, though his timeline may be a bit volatile given the seriousness of the injury.
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Guardians' Will Brennan: Back from IL
Rotowire
Brennan (elbow) was activated from the injured list Thursday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Brennan underwent sports hernia surgery in September, which was about three months after he required Tommy John surgery. His recovery time from the elbow procedure is much shorter as a position player, so he could be ready for the start of spring training.
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Guardians' Will Wilson: Booted from 40-man roster
Rotowire
Wilson was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus by the Guardians and elected free agency Thursday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Wilson made his big-league debut and picked up 91 plate appearances with Cleveland in 2025 before finishing the campaign with Columbus. He had only a .511 OPS for the Guardians and will now look for another opportunity around the league.
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Guardians' Carlos Hernandez: Inks minors deal with Cleveland
Rotowire
The Guardians re-signed Hernandez to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training Thursday, Aram Leighton of JustBaseball.com reports.
The Guardians were one of three teams Hernandez pitched for in 2025, as he held a 6.23 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 39:22 K:BB over 43.1 innings between Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland. With an average four-seamer velocity of 97.7 mph, Hernandez remains one of the hardest throwers in the game, but he's been an unreliable bullpen arm.
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