New Guardians reliever Colin Holderman working to bounce back from a disappointing 2025 season

Cleveland’s newest bullpen arm, 30-year-old right-hander Colin Holderman, arrived at spring training with a clear mission: rediscover the form that made him a trusted late-inning option in 2023 and 2024. After a rocky 2025 campaign, Holderman signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract in December and has spent the early weeks of camp refining his delivery and regaining the sharpness that once put him among the Guardians’ high-leverage relievers.

Pitching coach and catchers have kept the sessions low-key so far, focusing on mechanical consistency rather than results. The organization’s hope is that a healthy, confident Holderman can reclaim the velocity and command that evaporated last season, when his ERA ballooned and his strikeout rate dipped. With the regular season still weeks away, every bullpen throw is being charted, every video clip reviewed, all aimed at turning the page on 2025.

Holderman, who declined interview requests until he feels his stuff is fully back, has told teammates he welcomes the fresh start. The Guardians, looking to solidify the middle-inning bridge to closer Emmanuel Clase, will give Holderman every opportunity this spring to prove the December investment was sound. If the righty can mirror his 2023-24 production, Cleveland’s relief corps could quickly shift from question mark to strength.