Guardians Recall Codi Heuer From Triple-A to Eat Innings, Option Franco Aleman

The Cleveland Guardians are staying active.

On Wednesday, May 13, the Guardians announced that they were recalling reliever Codi Heuer from Triple-A Columbus, sending down Franco Aleman in the process. The decision comes just hours before the team is set to take on the Los Angeles Angels in the series finale from Progressive Field.

In the early morning hours, MLB.com's Tim Stebbins broke the initial news that something was going on, as Heuer was seen in the clubhouse and had been given a locker. However, there was no confirmation of who would be sent down.

Now, knowing it's Aleman, the move is relatively confusing.

The front office just called the 26-year-old up this past weekend, pitching him in 2.2 innings in total, where he posted a 3.38 ERA and 1.50 WHIP with one strikeout.

Manager Stephen Vogt gave more depth on the decision, explaining that this was a move made to allow Heuer to eat innings. He doesn't believe that Aleman will be down in Triple-A for long.

"He [Codi Heuer] can give us multiple innings," Vogt said about the move. "He's been throwing the ball really well. Unfortunately, it moves Franco Aleman... Franco threw the ball excellent. Two great outings. I mean, we threw him in the eighth inning, you know, two-run game. We had that kind of confidence in him.

"So we know Franco will be back to help us win a ton of games. It's just the position we're in right now."

Just yesterday, on Tuesday, May 12, the Guardians' bullpen was eaten into quite a bit. Following four innings from Slade Cecconi in the start, the team had to turn to multiple different arms to close out the contest in a 3-2 win.

Needing more depth to finish the series, calling up Heuer gives Cleveland a chance to toss out an inning-eater if things go awry on Wednesday.

"Obviously, we've been running hot in our bullpen through the middle of this 13-game stretch, so we needed some innings, so we recalled Codi Heuer," Vogt said in the pregame presser on Wednesday. "....We needed some innings today, given where our bullpen is. Codi will be with us, which we're really excited about..."

Already leading the league in strikeouts at a clip of 407, the Guardians will hope to get more K's with Heuer on the mound. Across his five seasons in minor league ball, he averaged 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

In 2025, spending time with the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers, Heuer posted marks of 11.5 and 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings, all while averaging over 1.0 innings pitched per outing.

Unless he blows away the Guardians' front office and coaching staff, it's unlikely that he is being treated as a long-term bullpen addition, at least right now. Experimenting with Aleman gave the team a taste of what he has to offer, but with more time, it's understood that he can be a legitimate contributor to the major league squad

After Wednesday's outing, the Guardians get a day to rest before being back at home on Friday to begin a series against the Cincinnati Reds.

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