Guardians intrigued by Rule 5 pick Pallette as bullpen candidate
Welcome back to the Guardians Beat newsletter. My name is Tim Stebbins, and I'm heading into my second season covering Cleveland for MLB.com.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Peyton Pallette was playing golf in The Villages, Fla., on Dec. 10 this offseason, enjoying some quality time with his family. Nearby, the right-hander’s wife, Jordyn, and her sister, Taylor, were seated in a cart livestreaming some appointment viewing.
When Jordyn and Taylor suddenly screamed, Pallette knew his career was about to change. The Guardians had selected him from the White Sox in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft.
“It's definitely exciting,” Pallette said this spring. “I'm excited to be here and excited to work with the coaches -- Carl [Willis] and Joe [Torres] and Brad [Goldberg] and Caleb [Longshore]. So far, it's been absolutely phenomenal.”
Pallette, 24, was Chicago’s second-round Draft pick in 2022. He logged a 4.06 ERA with 86 strikeouts and 28 walks in 64 1/3 innings over 52 appearances last season, between Double-A and Triple-A. It was a solid campaign, certainly given it was his first exclusively as a reliever, as he continued his march to the big leagues.
Pallette's MLB debut could come as soon as next month. First, he must get through a unique Spring Training. He’s ramping up for the season with Cleveland and could be with the Guardians one month from now. Or with the White Sox. Or another team.
As a Rule 5 pick, Pallette must stay on the Guardians’ active roster for the entire 2026 season. Otherwise, they will have to place him on outright release waivers, and offer him back to the White Sox if he clears. There’s understandable pressure that could come with that territory -- certainly for a guy who’s vying to reach the Majors for the first time. The Guardians wanted to help ease that as camp got underway.
“What we told Peyton was, ‘Go show us what you can do,'” manager Stephen Vogt said. “‘You're not going to make the team on Feb. 13, 14. Just dive in. Be stubborn to who you are, but dive in with our coaches, and let's see how we can grow together over the next six, seven weeks.’
“‘Whatever decision ends up being made is not within your control. What is within your control is building yourself up for a seven-month season. Let us help you do that and show us what you can do in the process.’”
Pallette noted the Guardians also stressed that he does not have to go out and try to be perfect every day, and that they selected him in the Rule 5 for a reason. It helped him feel at ease.
“That really took a little bit of weight off my shoulders and just allowed me to breathe and really adapt to where I'm at,” Pallette said.
Adding to the uniqueness of Pallette’s situation is build-up was slowed early in camp after he experienced right shoulder fatigue following a pair of bullpen sessions. He has returned to throwing, including in live batting practice on Saturday, and could get into games in the coming days. That would leave him around four weeks for him to secure a spot on the roster.
The Guardians obviously like what they’ve seen from Pallette thus far in his career. As a former starting pitcher, he has a four-pitch mix (curveball, fastball, slider and changeup). His heater sits 94-96 mph and touches 98 mph with high spin rates, according to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report. That will play out of the bullpen.
The Guardians have a lot of competition in their bullpen this spring. There are around a dozen relievers in contention for an Opening Day roster spot, some whose spots are obviously more secured than others.
Cleveland’s message to Pallette as he takes the mound each day is simple: Have fun.
“We feel like Peyton has the skill set and the ability to impact our team in the bullpen,” Vogt said this weekend. “We need to see how Spring Training goes. But again, we’ve got a long way to go before we need to make those decisions.
“… He's been diving in with our pitching group a lot. He's been exciting to get to know. We just want to see him compete in games, and we'll see where the chips fall.”
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PAYTON PALLETTE HIGHLIGHTS
https://www.mlb.com/video/peyton-pallet ... in-the-7th
https://www.mlb.com/video/00u1p27zrvzyz ... n-pallette
https://www.mlb.com/video/peyton-pallet ... strikeouts
https://youtu.be/DKkpGj5H0tU
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