CLEVELAND — Two right-handed relievers who spent part of 2026 in the Cleveland Guardians bullpen are heading to the open market. Minor league transaction records show Connor Brogdon and Carlos Hernández both opted for free agency this week, shortly after Tampa Bay eliminated Cleveland in a sixth game of the AL Championship Series.
Brogdon, 31, signed a one-year major league deal worth $900,000 last winter. He posted a 5.06 ERA over 16 relief appearances and 16 innings, giving up five homers while walking only three. Cleveland took him off the 40-man roster twice, the second time in late September, and at Triple-A Columbus he allowed runs at a 6.35 clip across 11 1/3 frames. A 10th-round Phillies pick in 2017, he had his best stretch in 2021 and 2022 before stops with the Dodgers and Angels.
Hernández, 29, returned to Cleveland on a minor league deal last November but suffered fractures to his right leg and left arm when he was in a car crash at home in Venezuela in January, then began the season on the injured list. Called up Sept. 1, he pitched three innings over two games and was outrighted days later. The hard thrower has a 5.14 ERA across 302 2/3 big league innings with Kansas City, Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland, and his best year was 2021 with the Royals.
Either pitcher could still return to the organization on a new minor league contract, depending on what the market offers.
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