Trevor Stephan transforms from Rule 5 pick to key Guardians reliever

On Apr 3, 2023

Cleveland Guardians catcher Meibrys Viloria, second from left, and relief pitcher Trevor Stephan (37) celebrate with second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) and third baseman Gabriel Arias, right, following the 10th inning against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Seattle.

During the offseason that preceded the 2021 season, Cleveland’s front office took a flier on a young starting pitcher from the New York Yankees’ minor league system who they thought might able to turn into something more than he had shown to that point.

That pitcher, Trevor Stephan, was the 15th overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft, in which teams can poach minor leaguers from other organizations if they weren’t protected by being placed on the 40-man roster by a certain point in their minor league careers. There were 12 right-handed pitchers selected before him.

Fast forward a few years, and that minor league starting pitcher who wasn’t given a 40-man roster spot by the Yankees has turned into one of the biggest Guardians pitching development success stories. And although Stephan didn’t come up through the minors with Cleveland, his transition to the bullpen has converted him into one of baseball’s best middle relievers.

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Over the last three years, Stephan has transformed from a starter who had a 4.72 ERA in the minors in 2019 and wasn’t given a 40-man roster spot by the Yankees into a key member of a Guardians bullpen that in 2022 was one of the game’s best.

“Yeah, going back to that year [in the Rule 5 Draft], there were a handful of players that were on our potential list,” said president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti. “He didn’t have a ton of success in the immediately preceding season, but there were some things we liked in his profile and we thought it was a good arm to add to the organization and see if we could help him develop.”

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Antonetti admitted that the team wasn’t entirely sure if Stephan’s move to the bullpen would stick. After all, in order for teams to keep their Rule 5 selections, they must remain on the active roster for an entire season. Due to roster limitations, those players can often be returned or simply not pan out as the team had hoped.

“We know the probabilities of Rule 5 players sticking with a team, and so we weren’t sure whether or not it would work, but we thought it was worth a gamble,” Antonetti said. “And to Trevor’s credit … it hasn’t been an easy path to this point.”

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Stephan posted a 4.41 ERA in 2021, his first with Cleveland. But as the Guardians continued to work with him in his move to the bullpen, he had a breakthrough 2022 in which he finished with a 2.69 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 63⅔ innings, often acting as a high-leverage reliever in the seventh or eighth innings.

A major key in that 2022 season was the development of his splitter, which became one of his best weapons and allowed him to better attack both right-handed and left-handed hitters.

Guardians sign Trevor Stephan to long-term contract extension

The Guardians recently ensured Stephan will be a member of their bullpen for the foreseeable future. He and the team agreed to a four-year, $10 million extension that includes club options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. He joins closer Emmanuel Clase, who signed an extension a year ago that can also potentially keep him in Cleveland through 2028.

In a way, it was a milestone in Stephan’s journey from Rule 5 pick to a crucial piece of the Guardians’ long-term plans with their bullpen. Stephan’s also already off to a good start in 2023, as he threw three scoreless innings in the team’s first four games and recorded a save in extra innings in Sunday’s 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners.