January 30: Avila has declined the assignment in favor of free agency, the team announced.
January 29: The Guardians have sent reliever Pedro Avila outright to Triple-A Columbus, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. Cleveland had designated him for assignment a week ago when they signed Paul Sewald. Avila has been outrighted once before in his career, which gives him the right to elect minor league free agency.
Avila, 28, was a bullpen workhorse this year. He took the ball 54 times and tossed 82 2/3 relief innings between the Padres and Guardians, fourth in the majors behind Ryan Yarbrough, Derek Law and Luke Weaver. While most of Avila’s work came in low-leverage relief, he managed solid results. Avila turned in a 3.81 earned run average with a decent 23.2% strikeout percentage and 45% grounder rate. The righty had a slightly higher than average 10.2% walk rate, but he was generally an effective bullpen piece for skipper Stephen Vogt. He added four scoreless innings during the postseason.
That was Avila’s second straight decent year. He provided San Diego 50 1/3 innings of 3.22 ERA ball while striking out nearly a quarter of opponents in 2023. That makes it somewhat surprising that he didn’t attract any interest on the waiver wire. Avila is out of minor league options, though, so any team that claimed him would’ve needed to keep him in the MLB bullpen or designate him themselves. Apparently no team was willing to commit him a roster spot.
As mentioned, Avila now decides whether to stick with the Guardians or test the market. That he went unclaimed on waivers suggests he’d probably be looking at a minor league deal with a non-roster Spring Training invite if he elects free agency.
Nooooo!!!! They can’t do that to Pedro Avila!
Mets should take a flyer on him!
With no options? It’s hard to figure who he’s an improvement on now that Stanek’s been signed.
@jackStrawb Griffing cannon
It’s getting pretty difficult to understand some of the moves the Guardians have made or haven’t made this offseason. It’s supposed to be a major league team. Run it as such or find a buyer who will.
Indianfan;
Huh?
They’re one of the lowest revenue teams in MLB, and got to the
AL Championship Series in 2024. Their FO clearly knows what they’re doing.
However, rather than complain, here’s how YOU can help……
Buy 2-4 season tickets. Have your friends and relatives do the
same. That administration has shown in the past that when
they bring in more revenue they spend more on payroll.
Of course, to expect them to compete equally with teams
from Boston, NYC, LA, Philly, etc. for FA players isn’t realistic.
The Guardians play in MLB. Not the NBA or NFL.
Why do you take the bait?
They are not a low revenue team. They make hundreds of millions in profits and continue to get gullible people like you to believe their poverty crap. The owners are billionaires not millionaires. Spending one dollar a second you would spend 1 million in 11 days but it would take 32 years to spend 1 billion. Stop being so easily misled.
@Indianfan
What does outrighting Pedro Avila to the minor leagues have to do with “supposedly being a major league team”? Why is it so difficult to understand that Cleveland has better options on its roster for relievers than Pedro Avila currently? And why would any fan call into question Cleveland’s wisdom–the team with the best bullpen in baseball last year–when NO OTHER BASEBALL TEAM WITH WORSE BULLPENS bothered to claim Pedro Avila?
The only truly difficult thing to understand is why, after so many years of excellence, people still don’t get how Cleveland does it. And insist on betraying their ignorance by publicly bitching and moaning about it.
As of the morning of January 30, 2025, this is still a free country with free speech, and that includes bitching publicly. Maybe that all changes by the afternoon.
Bitching isn’t particulary interesting to read. Bitching is an unconstructive, emotional complaint that focuses on venting frustration rather than seeking solutions, whereas criticism is a structured evaluation aimed at improvement. While bitching often reinforces negativity and stagnation, criticism provides actionable feedback that fosters growth and change. Ultimately, criticism engages with issues productively, while bitching merely amplifies dissatisfaction without resolution.
Are you criticizing or bitching? Seriously, I can’t tell.
Which is what you are doing.
@Indianfan
I’m a lifelong Cleveland fan and I know a lot of us complain about how the Dolans run the team on the cheap. But one thing Paul Dolan fails to get credit for is hiring the right people to run the team and staying out of the way. Nine playoff appearances, three ALCS appearances, one World Series (which we should have won), and the seventh best record in ALL of baseball in the last 25 years. Piss and moan all you want but the FO’s track record speaks for itself. Not all of their moves are gonna work out but they win more than they lose.
@buckeye46
Precisely. Reasonably, we should only expect three things out of ownership: 1) don’t use the threat of moving the team to get what you want from the locals; 2) hire the best people you can find to run the team, pay them well to instill a culture of loyalty and excellence, then let them do their jobs and 3) over time, spend the same % of revenues on baseball operations as other teams do on theirs. Dolans go check, check, and check on all the minimal qualifications. Do we wish they dug into their own pockets to spend millions on ballplayers for our enjoyment? Sure. But is that realistic? Heck no. Nobody gets to be wealthy–or stays wealthy–over the long run by going beyond team revenues to fund operations. That’s just axiomatic. Expecting “your” owner to be different from every other rich dude is delusional. And the Dolans, among the “poorest” owners in MLB have to adhere to revenue projections more than most. They don’t have the wherewithal to deviate from the budget, which is why having minority partners to help with operational expenses is so critical. And anyone expecting Blitzer to be any different that Dolan budget-wise is equally delusional. Much more likely, not being a local owner and not having run a club on his own, Blitzer will be WORSE running the Cleveland ball club in the other aspects of ownership I’ve listed than the Dolans were. Be careful what you wish for.
Wrong about Dolan being one of the “poorest” owners in MLB.
mlbtraderumors.com/2021/12/mlb-owners-net-worth.ht…
Dolan is the 6th richest in all of baseball.
I’m 99% sure that counts the entire Dolan family, which would include his cousin James that owns the Knicks. Paul doesn’t have access to that.
I’m not at all defending Guardians ownership (because even though they’ve built a great culture, I’d love to see higher payrolls too), but if I’m gonna criticize them I’d make sure the facts are there.
So you didn’t read the article. Read the damn article. It only mentions Larry and Paul Dolan. So you’re 99% wrong.
Owning the Guardians.
Trust me, I read it.
From the article you linked: “Family patriarch Charles Dolan, the brother of Larry Dolan and the uncle of Paul Dolan, was a cable television pioneer who launched Cablevision on Long Island in 1973 and sold the company to Altice for $17.7 billion in 2016.”
Charles is the father of James, owner of the Knicks. He’s Paul’s uncle and that’s it. I’m proud of you for reading, but comprehension helps too.
Yup. They’re related but that’s all. The value given in the article does not include Charles Dolan. Proof? You mention the sale of Cablevision for 17.7 billion. Last I checked that’s much more than the value mentioned in the article. You’re right comprehension does matter. Folks want to sell that Poor Paul is funding the team with his paper route money and is scuffling to pay his bills. Article upon article has separated Paul from the rest of his family and sure enough he still ranks high on the list. Has he done a great job hiring the right people? No queston. Has he run the team on the cheap? Also no question. Fans came out in droves for the playoffs they got bonus money for making the playoffs. The fans reward? Cut payroll. . Sorry. I don’t think you’ll see Dolan in the soup kitchens of Cleveland
@Windowpane
My god how people cling to their fantasies to support their biases.
Jason Lloyd (no fan of the Dolans) painstakingly explained in great detail in The Athletic years ago how the Dolans borrowed heavily from the family trust to buy the Indians, overpaid in the process of doing so, and have been cash strapped ever since by debt service on the purchase and baseball revenues which were in a steady decline after the Browns came back.and the 90’s Tribe hysteria ebbed. Paul Dolan owned a local law firm that did well, but there is no mountain of wealth residing in the Cleveland Dolans like their cousins in New York. Paul and Larry were lifelong CLE baseball fans and that’s it. They are among the very poorest owners in baseball, and if there is anything to bash the Dolans for, it’s being too poor to own the team. If they were billionaires, there’d be no need to take on minority partners, but they’ve desperately needed help to provide operational support for the team in exchange for equity participation. When Sherman left to buy the Royals, it caused a crisis, because Sherman had to be PAID for the equity gains in the team, which is akin to having to pay a divorced spouse his or her share of the home without selling it. Not easy to do! Yes, the Dolans will make bank when they sell, but they have to operate in the meantime, and when they DO sell, the capital gains taxes will be enormous and they will have to repay the family trust. Yes I know, first world problems, but stop with the nonsense that this is Stevie Cohen type wealth running the CLE baseball club. The Dolans are a mom and pop operation running a lemonade stand compared to the rest of MLB. And don’t expect it to change much with Blitzer (except for the worse, if he’s a meddler). The revenue is what the revenue is. This is the smallest market with the three major sports and if baseball started over, we wouldn’t even get a team.
So MLBTR just pulled the $4.6 billion out of thin air. And you talk about people clinging to their fantasies? I understand many people are fact-averse, but that doesn’t make facts untrue, it just illuminates stupidity.
Simple math. The Cleveland franchise is valued at $1.2 billion. Subtracting that from $4.6 billion leaves how much?
That is a trust which they can’t touch. Charles dolan who started Cablevision years ago has money in that trust goof.
Like above in a trust he can’t touch.
Smallest market? Are you kidding me? Are they small market. Absolutely. Smallest not even close. The rank 19th out of 30 baseball teams 19th out of cities with three professional teams. Larger than Milwaukee. Larger than Kansas City Larger than in state rival Cincinnati. Larger than San Diego. Your misinformation on Dolans net worth is one thing. This is out and out wrong
Really? According to Forbes, they used trust assets to help purchase the team. I won’t reciprocate with the puerile name-calling.
You are correct trust assets were used to purchase the team. There was no borrowing very easy to verify if you check the history. But then again Forbes isn’t the Athletic or so has been implied previously. Painstaking does not make it accurate
Now if you’ll excuse me it’s quitting time and I’m the one responsible to turn off the lights in Cleveland when I leave. So few of us left
@waittilnextyear
Please read more closely: the smallest market with the three MAJOR sports. Big difference.
What, MLBTR is immune to lazy research any more than you are? When lousy information gets out there on the net, folks like you will grab onto whatever they can find to justify their irrational biases.
Reread again. Still 19th in the market with 3 major sports
Right back at you. I don’t have to get my info off the net I live here which I’m certain you don’t since your info is so far wrong it’s ridiculous. Is that a bias? Perhaps. But my info comes directly from the source not some online mag or stat. You really should comment on another organization because you are completely uninformed about Cleveland and its fans.
@waittilnextyear
You still can’t read. CLE is by far the smallest market with all three MAJOR sports. That is inarguable.
Cleveland’s baseball market is also one of the most geographically bound. Detroit to the west, Pittsburgh to the east, the Reds to the south (and Lake Erie and the Jays in Canada to the north). CLE is not a regional team in the way, say, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati are (and again, those cities only have two of the major sports, which helps to channel the sports dollar to their baseball teams, not to mention much of northeast Ohio being an economic wasteland to begin with).
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…that makes your assertions even sorrier. You actually have no excuse for being misinformed about the local team and its ownership. But I get it, that has never stopped CLE baseball fans from being among the most ignorant, unappreciative, and self-entitled in the sport. Instead of being appreciative that we even HAVE a team, and one that has punched well above its weight over the last 30 years, CLE fans insist on bitching and moaning and complaining about a team and performance that the vast majority of fans in other markets would kill for.
@Indianfan What a lazy comment.
Wouldn’t be surprised if the Padres give him another shot
Agreed. Could definitely see him coming back, and going into the season contending for a staring spot. He showed some good promise for the Pads.
I’m pretty shocked nobody took a flier on him given how well he pitched out of their bullpen last year. Pleasantly so. That being said, I wouldn’t blame him for sticking with the Guardians now. They have already shown they know how to use him.
Although you could argue, with him now slated to start in the minors, they *could* stretch him out as a starter again. He was a starter basically until he ran out of options and had to convert to swing man/long relief middle of last year. Theoretically that would bolster some of their depth at SP (they don’t have much) for the early season, and you can always move him back to the bullpen after.
I’m starting to think all our games are blacked out on the other owners TV subscriptions. If they would just upgrade to that premium package
I must be missing something on Avila. His numbers look quite good over the past two seasons and he threw a ton of innings as well. Above average K rates and a slightly elevated walk rate but not overly concerning. There are many other bullpen pitchers with much worse results but yet no one puts in a claim for Avila to try and improve their club? I don’t believe salary is a concern here so what am I missing? Teams could have had him for free. Is there a personality concern with him? Is his Sierra much higher than his ERA? Enquiring minds want to know.
I would assume that Avila will select free agency and try his luck elsewhere unless Cleveland has a deal in place with him to recall him quickly to the majors. Cleveland still has a few holes in its lineup so more transactions should be coming soon as Spring Training starts in 2 weeks!!!
Avila’s ERA is misleading He’s a reliever with a WHIP of 1.331 in 2023-2024. who had some luck on fly balls not turning into HR.
I’m not surprised one of the best bullpens in the game is moving on without him—a little surprised, though, that no team could use him given he’s a pre-arb guy with options remaining.
He is out of options, which is probably why no one claimed him.
Padres need arms… Wha??? AJ wants more shortstops?
Could be some other teams are figuring they might be able to avoid giving him a 40 man spot & still get him as an NRI?
Back to the Padres on a minor league deal with an invite to camp.
No one claimed him so it could be that they’re angling for a non roster deal. Would be a good depth pickup
I watched Cleveland a lot and Avila was a workhorse type reliever. He pitched early, middle innings mostly. He was many times effective. I know he has no-options but a team would be on a good gamble by signing him, somehow.
Put him in low leverage situations and he does well.
I feel for this guy’s limbo. Pedro Avilia posts half a starter’s innings. Logs a sub-4 ERA. Was one of the few stable relievers in Guardians postseason. Designated for assignment. Clears waivers. Declines minor league contract assignment with Cleveland. I would have rather just kept him than paying Sewald for his past production. Who knows with Cleveland. They’re like the bad poker player who calls on every bad hand and ends up winning on the river. I really believe this off-season has caught up to them and they’re going to be towards the bottom of the Central.
Royals, Tigers, Padres, Diamondbacks, Mets, Twins, Braves, Brewers just a few of the teams that could use another reliever.