James Karinchak Granted Free Agency After Outright From Guardians

The Guardians announced some roster moves this afternoon, including the news that right-hander James Karinchak was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and then outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster.  Karinchak was granted free agency, so the 29-year-old righty will now hit the open market.

The hard-throwing Karinchak burst onto the scene with a sixth-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2020, posting a 2.67 ERA over 27 innings while striking out an exception 48.6% of all batters faced.  A 14.7% walk rate was attached to all those missed bats, however, which ended up being a constant over Karinchak’s time in the majors.  Over parts of five seasons with Cleveland, Karinchak had a 36.3K% and 14.1% walk rate in 165 2/3 innings, with a 3.10 ERA.

While the bottom-line results were still okay, Karinchak’s performance diminished after the league’s crackdown on illegal substances in 2021, and continued control problems and injuries made him something of an afterthought for the Guardians.  A teres major muscle strain cost him a big chunk of the 2022 season, he was shuttled back and forth from Triple-A multiple times in 2023, and he was limited to just 6 2/3 Triple-A innings in 2024 due to a shoulder injury suffered during Spring Training.

Karinchak was projected to earn $1.9MM in the arbitration process, so today’s transaction is essentially just an early non-tender.  Karinchak is still arb-controlled through 2026 and he has one minor league option year remaining, so any interested teams could stash him in Triple-A to see if he can stay healthy or harness his control.  The obvious strikeout potential will surely land Karinchak a minors deal somewhere, and a change of scenery could help him get his career back on track.