CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Guardians have built a reputation as baseball’s premier pitching factory, consistently transforming raw, hard-throwing prospects into polished major league contributors. Their latest rumored acquisition, as discussed on the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, follows this precise blueprint: right-hander Ettore Giulianelli, who embodies the archetype of a talented but untamed power arm.
“He’s a hard throwing right hander, can get it up to 98 miles an hour. He’s Italian if you couldn’t tell by the last name,” Joe Noga explained on the podcast. “He spent four years in the Cardinals organization, a minor league free agent and according to reports, he’s signing a minor league deal with the Guardians.”
What makes the potential signing particularly fascinating isn’t just Giulianelli’s impressive velocity, but his statistical profile that immediately evoked a classic baseball film character.
As Noga detailed: “I think last season in, in something like 25 innings for the Cardinals’ Florida Coast League team he walked 31, but he struck out 39. It’s, it’s the old ‘Bull Durham’ line. Walked 18, a new league record. Struck out 18, also a new league record. One of the great lines in a baseball movie. Yeah, Nuke LaLoosh.”
The comparison to “Bull Durham’s” fictional flamethrower is apt and reveals much about Cleveland’s pitching development strategy. The organization has consistently demonstrated confidence in its ability to harness electric arms with questionable command, betting on their player development system to refine raw talent.
Paul Hoynes acknowledged the potential upside, stating: “He’s an interesting guy. We’ll have to see how he fits into the organization and what the organization can do for him to get him on a path to Cleveland.”
This statement captures the essence of Cleveland’s approach: identifying high-ceiling arms that other organizations might pass on due to control issues, then applying their developmental expertise to maximize that potential. The Guardians’ track record speaks for itself, having transformed numerous wild-but-talented pitchers into valuable contributors.
Giulianelli fits the physical profile the Guardians typically target as well. As Noga noted, “Six foot three, 190 pounds, throws hard from the right side.” This combination of size and velocity provides the foundation upon which Cleveland’s renowned pitching coaches can build.
The signing represents a low-risk, potentially high-reward move for the organization. By acquiring Giulianelli as a minor league free agent, the Guardians can take their time developing him without the pressure of a major league roster spot or significant financial investment. If their pitching development staff can help him harness his control while maintaining his impressive strikeout ability, they could uncover another diamond in the rough.
For Guardians fans, signings like this offer a fascinating glimpse into the organization’s player development philosophy. While casual observers might focus solely on major league acquisitions, these under-the-radar moves often reveal more about a team’s identity and long-term strategy.
The discussion highlighted how the Guardians continue to believe in their ability to develop pitching talent internally rather than paying premium prices on the free agent market. It’s a philosophy that has served the organization well over the years, helping them remain competitive despite financial constraints.
To hear more about Giulianelli and other recent Guardians signings, including insights into how Cleveland identifies and develops pitching talent, check out the full episode of the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast.
Read the automated transcript of today’s podcast below. Because it’s an AI-generated transcript, it may contain errors and misspellings.
Podcast Transcript
Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynsie, the Guardians finally resolved the last of their DFA limbo players. Justin Brule traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in a cash deal. Brule goes to the Cardinals after spending all of three days on the Cleveland roster in mid December before being designated for assignment. This is a left handed reliever and he’s going to probably get a chance there in, in St. Louis, whereas it would have been tough for him to leapfrog guys like Eric Sabrowski, Tim Herron in the, the Guardians bullpen.
Paul Hoynes: For sure, Joe, and he’s, you know, he’s been sitting in DFA limbo like our buddy John Kenzie Noel since you know, he was, he was DFA’d in late December right before the holidays. So I’m sure, I’m sure he’s glad that he’s got some clarity. Uh, you know, he knows where he’s, he’ll go to spring training, at least for right now. I mean things can change obviously. But the, the ironic thing is Joe, he get St. Louis, gets Brule and, and it caused Zach Kent, another guy that pitched with Cleveland last season, it cost him a job. He gets, he gets DFA to make place to make room for Brule on the Cardinals roster.
Joe Noga: Yeah, Kent had been released, you know, back in December prior to the, the Rule 5 draft and to make room there on the Guardians 40 man roster and he had been claimed on waivers by the Cardinals and sort of spent a few weeks on their roster and now is, is out of a job in favor of Brule. Yeah, just a sort of a weird circuitous route there that essentially it ends up taking John Kenzie Noel’s roster spot and giving it to Sean Armstrong who signed right before Christmas with the guardians. Signed a one year deal with an option for 2027, a mutual option, you know, in between Bull was sort of the placeholder for that roster spot before the Guardian signed Armstrong. We’ll spent all of 16 days sort of hanging out there designated for assignment without any real resolution to his situation. And like you said, now he, he has a, you know, sort of a clear path and an opportunity there with the Cardinals. So you know, best case scenario for him I think not a great thing for Zach Kent who he had his moments in, in with the, the big league club in Cleveland. Really had a, a nice season in Belay, put up some good numbers, had a sub 3 era in relief and you know, maybe there’s an opportunity for him to to re sign with the Guardians organization and continue in the minor leagues there. But the numbers game and with all the right handed relievers that have been added recently by Cleveland, I think it would have been really hard for him to have another CR big leagues there.
Paul Hoynes: I agree. He made 12 appearances with the Guardians and he did you look at his numbers at AAA Columbus, he really pitched well and that’s why he kept bouncing between Cleveland and Columbus. He was up and down several times and I think he, he pitched in the postseason as well. So I’m pretty sure maybe no, I don’t know if he did pitch in the postseason but he was still, you know, he helped them win the division. I know he was on the team when they clinched. Hopefully, you know, Zach Kent gets another look somewhere down here and with somebody catching on with somebody.
Joe Noga: Yeah, I just remember his, his major league debut was in April against the, against the Yankees and sort of a, a big pressure situation to be thrown in for your, your major league debut and you know he came out of it, you know, pretty well. So you know, best of luck to Zach Kent as as he moves forward with his, his opportunities there. Another guy with another opportunity again with the Guardians. For the third year in a row, Cleveland signed a catcher, Dom Nunez, and invited him to big league camp. This is one of those signings where it’s, it’s inevitable the Guardians are going to need catchers and guys to sort of carry the workload there when pitchers and catchers report in mid February. And Dom Nunez has filled that role and even you know, appeared in a couple of games for the Guardians last season when Austin Hedges went on the, the injured list with concussion. It’s probably a safe bet when you, you know, the team’s looking for a backup like that. Austin Hedges has had some issues with concussions in the past and there’s, there’s maybe opportunities there if, if you’re a Dom Nunez, knowing that you know, you’re always one pitch or one foul tip away from getting a call and getting a stint with the big league club.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, he what he played two games with Cleveland last season. The rest of the time was at Triple-A. You know, solid backup guy. He’s had some big league time with the Rockies and as you suggested Joe, going into spring training you’re going to need six, seven, eight catchers. So you know, bringing Nunez back makes a lot of sense for Cleveland.
Joe Noga: Yeah, well traveled Nunez, Rockies, Giants, Pirates, Cubs and Guardians. He’s, he’s been in a lot of different organizations and well regarded for you Know, just being that veteran presence in AAA when he’s down there as well. He’s, you know, when he, when he doesn’t catch and obvious, you know, AAA is going to have a guy like Cooper Engel, guys that are, they’re trying to bring along as catchers. He can, he can serve as a mentor there. He can DH when he needs to for the, the Clippers. So yeah, just a good opportunity. Nunez joins Stuart Fairchild as really so far the only two non roster invites position players signed by Cleveland. We would expect that number to, to maybe go up, you know, maybe another outfielder somewhere along the line. With the number of infielders that the Guardians already have in the pipeline, I think, you know, that that might be pushing it. But Pedro Avila, Cody Heuer coming to camp on non roster invitations as well. So you know, expect a few more of those signings just randomly. But we’re also waiting to hear who the internal invitees will be to, to big league camp.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, and you know, that usually comes out, you know, some, you know, but it has to come out sometime this month, Joe, with camp opening what, February 10th, probably in Goodyear. So you know, they’ll have, you know, a bunch of, you know, they’re highly, I mean they’re, they’re upper level prospects come, come to camp. I would imagine Travis Bazzana will get a look, we’ll get a call and that, you know, that’s going to be exciting to see how he mixes in and really gets his first kind of extended look at the big league style of baseball.
Joe Noga: And he came up, he appeared in. Bazzana did appear in a bunch of Cactus League games last year, but that was coming over from the minor league camp. That wasn’t. Hey, he’s in big league camp the whole time getting that experience. So it’ll be different this year and obviously it’ll start, you know, a lot earlier. And then you also have to factor in Bazzana playing for Timo Australia in the World Baseball Classic this year. That’s another sort of wrinkle that’s going to be thrown in and would probably interrupt at least a portion of his big league camp. All of, all of that’s to say, you know, it probably won’t lead to a great opportunity for him to make the opening day roster, regardless of how well he performs.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, no doubt about it. You know, he’s not going to make the opening day roster. I mean, I would think, you know, I’m not sure where Team Australia is going to train for the WBC. Joe. I know you know, he spent what, you know, right after the minor league season ended last year, he went home to Australia. Then, you know, I think he spent time at home and then, you know, at the winter meetings we were told that he had, you know, returned to a good year and I was, I would imagine he was getting prepared for Australia for, for the WBC. Now, you know, perhaps he won’t be, you know, invite yet. One of the, the invitees to come to, you know, Arizona and train with the big league. He’ll be training with w. With Australia. If Australia is training what in Australia or somewhere in the Far East. You know, that’s a lot of travel so it’ll be interesting to see where, how he fits.
Joe Noga: Gotta imagine that Australia will be playing its games in the WBC in whatever the, the Japanese or the, the Asian, you know, theater will be for, for those games. Yeah, I can’t imagine them that there being that much travel involved and those teams will probably train or practice out of Arizona because of the proximity or somewhere in Southern California and the games take place there. So just a lot to, to sort of figure out with where Bazan is going to end up. But like we said, all signs right now pointing to him having spending time in the big league camp but you know, certainly not being one of the candidates favored to make an opening day roster. We also just within the last, you know, 12 to 14, they’re seeing reports that the Guardians have, you know, signed another right handed pitcher. Speaking of the World Baseball Classic, Ettore Giulianelli, a hard throwing right hander, can get it up to 98 miles an hour. He’s Italian if you couldn’t tell by the, the last name Hoynsie. I’m not even going to let you attempt to pronounce this guy’s last name. But he spent four years in the Cardinals organization, a minor league free agent and apparently according to John Morosi and a few others, is signing with the Guardians. Don’t know if he’s going to get an invite to spring training, but he fits the bill. Six foot three, 190 pounds, throws hard from the right side. Ettore Giulianelli. Practice up on your Italian enunciation there, Hoynsie.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, interesting sign. We’ll have to see how he fits into the organization and what the organization can do for him to get him on a path to Cleveland.
Joe Noga: Yeah, I think last season in, in something like 28 inn for the Florida Coast League team for the Cardinals he walked 31, but he struck out 39. You know, it’s, it’s the old Bull Durham line. Uh, you know, walked 15, a new league record, struck out 18, and also a new league record. You know, uh, one of the great lines in, uh, in a, in a baseball movie. Yeah, Nuke Leash. Well, Nuke Leash is harder to spell than Tori Giulianelli. So we’ll keep an eye on, on the Italian Stallion. Hoynsie. All right, we want to talk a little bit about a post that we saw, interesting exercise that our friends over the, at the Athletic did where they went through basically all of the remaining free agents out there right now, and they put together a roster, basically a 1 through 9 and starting pitchers and bench and everything. They made up a roster of remaining free agents. And I’ll tell you this, if this were a first team in the league, I would, I put some money on these guys. They could win some ball games. Hoynsie, what do you think of a lineup that has Bo Bichette, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Cody Bellinger, Eugenio Suarez, jt, Rio Muto, Luisa Rise, Harrison Bader, and Willie Castro? They could win some ball games.
Paul Hoynes: You’re not kidding, Joe. And that’s, that’s an expensive starting nine as well if these guys get paid what they’re looking for on a free Asian market. But it, it’s, it’s amazing that so much talent is still out there, Joe, and it’s still kind of twisting in the wind. And you wonder, you know, why these guys haven’t been snapped up and is it just, you know, the domino theory guy, Kyle Tucker finally gets signed due to the rest of them, you know, fall in line fairly quickly because the clock is ticking and we’re into January at camps open in early February, especially with the WBC. I’m sure these guys are looking to see where, you know, would like to find a home for themselves before the start of the season.
Joe Noga: Yeah, I mean, this year, the, the free agent market, it’s moved slowly, but not maybe as slowly as we think back to 2022 when there was also a labor negotiation going on, a protracted sort of long negotiation there that actually delayed the start of the season by a week back in 2022. And then there were, there was a camp that, you know, the free agents were all working out at. And you know, guys, it took forever for guys to get signed. You know, this year doesn’t necessarily feel like it’s at that level quite yet, but yeah, there’s a, there’s a bit of a delay. I mean, the top guys, the, the, the, the premier guys Went early. You know, Josh Naylor was one of the first ones to sign and he was one of the big guys taken off the, the list early. But you know, these guys, you know, Bregman, Bellinger, Tucker are all guys who can make an impact this season. Of that group, of that, those nine that I listed there, who do you think might be the first one off the board here before things get going?
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, that’s, that’s a great question. I would think, you know, there’s not that much competition. You know, there’s not. I would think Bichette would be a guy to me, Joe, that, that would want to get this thing done and you could, you could. It looks like he, he’s, you know, Toronto is probably out of it right now, so I would think Bichette is probably maybe the first to go amongst that starting nine.
Joe Noga: Yeah, I mean, when you say Toronto is out of it, Toronto has had spent their way out of Bo Bichette by going and signing, you know, Japanese players and, and Dylan Cease and Toronto’s had an excellent off season by all accounts in adding to an already winning core. It’s almost like they, they don’t need Boba Shed, which kind of, kind of sounds, you know, silly to, to say, but Andres Jimenez is going to play shortstop there, it looks like, and they’ll be, they’ll be in good shape. You can’t, you can’t, you know, deny Bichette’s talent. The guy who can, you know, lead the league in, in hits at any given moment, he’s, he’s always got the, the hit total up there. You know, we saw what he could do even on display in the World Series. I’m just curious, you know, is he going to be a second baseman, is he going to be a shortstop? Wherever he signs, you know, there, there’s teams out there that could definitely use him. I just don’t know what the best fit for him is.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, definitely, Joe. You know, he hurt that ankle late last season, put him on the IL when he was playing shortstop, but he looked pretty good at second base when he came back and played in the postseason. So, you know, you would think that. I guess it all depends what a team is looking for. If you need an offensive minded shortstop, I mean, Boba Shed is probably the guy.
Joe Noga: Yeah, Tucker, Bregman and Bellinger are all guys who can, can make a big impact. And I’m looking at both New York teams and I’m thinking, you know, the Mets have by all accounts had a disastrous offseason, not just on who they’ve, you know, let walk, but also who they’ve failed to be able to bring in, like anybody of significance and impact. You know, they lose Pete Alonso, they haven’t really added to that lineup in any way. I gotta believe that they’re, they’re going to be willing to spend whatever it takes to get one of those three guys, if not more than one of those three guys.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, you know, you would think, I would imagine Bellinger is waiting to see what Tucker gets and then would, would, would kind of, you know, maybe try to platform off that or spring, you know, springboard off that contract. But Tucker is coming off that, you know, kind of a hot and cold season with the C projections worry he was going to sign for 500, a $500 million deal. You know, he’s been hurt for two years, so you don’t know. I don’t know if that kind of deal is out there for him right now, Joe. So maybe, you know, Bellinger, you know, it seems like the Yankees really want him back. Toronto is still talking to Tucker. You know, Bregman is a guy that, that really kind of interests me. You know, he, he opted out of a three year, $120 million deal with Boston. I think he could end up going back there maybe. But, you know, he’s, he’s an interesting guy as well.
Joe Noga: Yeah. And interesting in that, you know, he had been close to signing or, you know, had at least been in talks with Detroit as well. You know, that’s something that impacts the Guardians and their season is if Bregman winds up in the division, you know, joining a division opponent, joining the team that, that knocked you out of the postseason. You know, if they, you know, a Bregman reunion with AJ Hinch in Detroit is a possibility, then that’s something that the Guardians fans definitely have to keep an eye on. But Bellinger, to me, seems to be the one out of that group that could have the biggest impact on any team that he joins. You know, you wonder if the, the Yankees are serious about paying him, bringing him back, or, or if he’s going to explore other options.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I think they really, the Yankees really want him back, Joe, and I think, you know, that’s where he’ll, he will eventually land. Well, the one guy is interesting that’s been connected with Cleveland is Harrison Bader, I should say. He’s playing center field in this lineup. But, you know, I don’t know if he’s, you know, he’s said to be looking for a two to Three year deal. I don’t know if the Guardians will go that, you know, this is a guy that we saw a couple years ago hurt Cleveland in the postseason when he was playing with the Yankees and is coming off really a strong year. Last season he ended up with the Phillies.
Joe Noga: Yeah. And he swings the bat from the right side of the plate. So that can only help fill a need for the Guardians if that’s something that they’re interested in. I was going to ask you of that remaining group that, that I listed there, J.T. Realmuto, Eugenio Suarez, we talked about earlier in the week, Willie Castro, Luis Arraez. Do any of those guys fit with, with what Cleveland wants to do or do you think that overarching philosophy of keeping the Runway clear for some of these prospects is what’s going to ultimately win out for the Guardians?
Paul Hoynes: You know, I, I can’t see him going after Realmuto.
Joe Noga: Right.
Paul Hoynes: I think it’s probably too much money and you love the player, you know, great, great. You know, three time batting champion. Just what, had close to 200 hits again last season? I, I don’t know. I, I, you know, if he’s only going to play first base, I just don’t see that. I think he’s blocking the Manzardo or Kayfus. And then Bader is still up in the air. Castro, you know, obviously he came from Cleveland. He’s a Cleveland guy, utility guy, plays all over. That’s probably, if they follow suit, that’s probably the guy they, they would most likely sign out of that group.
Joe Noga: Yeah, he, he, he actually does. You know what, when Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff and, and Steven Vogt see a guy who can, you know, play infield, outfield, I think he’s a switch hitter as well. You know, their, their eyes light up like the meme of the guy standing behind the tree. So the corner there at, you know, the opportunity to, to sign a guy like that, I don’t know, I don’t see that happening. I don’t see them bringing anybody else in at this point. But interesting. With Arise, you could pair him at the top of the order with Stephen Kwan and basically have two clones of each other. High on base, guys with high bat to ball skills Arise, maybe a little bit more power, but Kwon developing that sort of power. Stephen Kwan is maybe Luis Arai’s light, but the two of them were would certainly give you a lot of hits at the top of the order.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, definitely that would improve that.226 team batting average for sure.
Joe Noga: Yeah, by a lot. So, yeah, there’s a lot of opportunities, a lot of guys still out there to be considered, maybe not by the Guardians, but certainly by some of their divisional opponents and playoff contenders in the American League. So it’s a, it’s something to keep an eye on. A good little exercise done by the guys over the athletic hoy that’s going to wrap up today’s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. We will check in again with you on Thursday.
Paul Hoynes: Well, thanks, man.
