CLEVELAND — In a sport obsessed with velocity, youth, and constant reinvention, the Cleveland Guardians have made a decision that cuts against the noise. Carl Willis is coming back as the club’s pitching coach, a move that may not dominate national headlines but could quietly define the franchise’s immediate future. This will mark Willis’ 16th season with the Guardians organization and his ninth in his second tour as pitching coach, a rare level of continuity in modern baseball — and one earned the hard way.
Willis’ first run on the shores of Lake Erie came from 2010–2013 under Eric Wedge, years that helped shape Cleveland’s identity as a pitching-first organization. Now, more than a decade later, his value has never been clearer.
Just one season ago, the Guardians won the 2024 AL Central despite a rotation that was held together with grit and tape. That group went 50–57, ranked 10th in the American League with a 4.40 ERA, logged just 805 innings (13th in the AL), and allowed a .250 batting average (12th). Fourteen different starters were used, and only one — Tanner Bibee — made 30 or more starts. The division title came with warning signs.
Cleveland listened.
Heading into 2025, improving the rotation wasn’t a talking point — it was a mandate. And while the season featured its share of turbulence, the results were undeniable. The Guardians’ starters finished 51–50, jumped to fourth in the AL with a 3.86 ERA, led the league with 888 innings pitched, and cut opponents’ batting average to .241, eighth-best in the league. Even more telling: they needed just 10 starters all season.
That kind of durability doesn’t happen by accident.
Bibee and Gavin Williams each made 31 starts. Logan Allen made 29, and would have reached 30 had Cleveland not skipped him late as the club mounted a historic comeback. Slade Cecconi, acquired from Arizona in the Josh Naylor trade, evolved from depth piece into rotation mainstay under the guidance of Willis and assistant pitching coaches Joe Torres and Brad Goldberg. Bibee, Williams, Allen, and Cecconi all logged career highs in innings pitched.
And when injuries and off-field chaos struck, the structure held.
Cleveland lost Ben Lively to Tommy John surgery and Luis Ortiz to a gambling investigation. Later, closer Emmanuel Clase was also sidelined by a similar investigation, draining critical bullpen innings. Instead of collapsing, the Guardians adapted. Rookies Joey Cantillo (5–3, 3.21 ERA) and Parker Messick (3–1, 2.72 ERA) were eased into meaningful roles, not rushed, not broken.
“The steadiness and calm that Carl brings to our pitchers, to our pitching coaches and our staff in general is invaluable,” manager Stephen Vogt said at his end-of-season press conference.
That endorsement carries weight. Vogt, a former catcher, entered Cleveland without a deep personal history with Willis. The respect came quickly.
“Every pitching coach that I had raved about him,” Vogt said. “Now getting to sit next to him in the dugout for the last two years, this is one of the elite people in the game of baseball… It’s really special for me to be able to share a dugout bench with Carl every day.”
The front office deserves credit, too. Cleveland signed Shane Bieber and John Means before the season as high-upside safety nets, both recovering from Tommy John surgery. Bieber was later traded and is now pitching in the World Series for Toronto. Means never threw a pitch for Cleveland, but the Guardians retain a $6 million club option for 2026, another example of layered planning rather than desperation.
The rotation peaked when it mattered most.
In September, with rosters expanded and the bullpen stretched thin, Cleveland made a bold call: a six-man rotation. Cantillo was recalled to join Bibee, Williams, Cecconi, Allen, and Messick. The result was historic. From September 5–24, the Guardians made 19 consecutive starts allowing two runs or fewer, the longest streak in franchise history. Cleveland went 20–7 in September, erased a 15½-game deficit, passed Detroit, and clinched the AL Central on the final day.
“They did a great job of coming together as a team,” Vogt said simply.
Now, as the offseason begins, questions loom elsewhere. Assistant GM Matt Forman remains a finalist for the Rockies’ president of baseball operations job, with a decision expected around the general manager meetings. Change may still come to Cleveland’s front office.
But in the dugout, one thing is certain.
In a year defined by chaos, attrition, and pressure, Carl Willis was the constant. His return isn’t just about familiarity — it’s about proof. Proof that structure beats panic. That development beats patchwork. And that sometimes, the most dangerous move a contender can make… is staying the course.
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