Abbotsford Closer Hurling Cleveland Closer to World Series

Given their current budget and their history of heartbreak, the Cleveland Guardians were not expected to be three wins away from baseball’s biggest stage. Given Cade Smith’s improbable journey to becoming the Guardians’ closer, the Abbotsford native seems like the perfect pitcher to defy oddsmakers and predication markets alike.

With baseball’s lowest payroll and the weight of a 77-year World Series drought in tow, the Guardians head back Cleveland with home field advantage in what is now a best-of-five series against the American League’s top team. Smith secured the final three outs without allowing a baserunner in the Guardians’ Game 1 victory, but did not pitch for the first time this postseason in a Game 2 loss to Tampa Bay.

Since breaking into the majors in 2024, Smith has been among the most consistent relievers in all of baseball. His path to get there, however, was more circuitous than the route he would take driving from his hometown in BC to his residence in Ohio.

For starters, Smith was drafted in the 16th round by the Minnesota Twins as a high schooler back in 2017, but opted to pitch at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa instead. An eager and engaged student, Smith pursued a biology degree and was even considering medical school while honing his pitching skills with the Rainbow Warriors, which he believed would result in an improved draft slot in 2020. However, that particular MLB draft was limited to five rounds as a result of the COVID pandemic, and Smith was not among those selected.

After talking to multiple organizations, Smith decided to sign with Cleveland for the bargain price of $20,000. He steadily progressed through the club’s minor league system over the next three years and ascended to the Guardians roster to begin the 2024 season. He dazzled in his Major League debut, striking out five batters in two innings of middle relief.

And yet, if not for a very unique sense of circumstances, Cade Smith might never have become the Guardians closer at all.

Over the next season and a half, Smith solidified himself as a valuable member of the Cleveland bullpen, which already employed one of the best closers in baseball, Emmanuel Clase. In a shocking turn of events last summer, Clase and fellow Cleveland pitcher, Luis Ortiz, were arrested and charged with wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering.

As the Guardians attempted to regroup, Smith was moved into the closer’s role and seized the opportunity. He earned 16 saves over the final two months of the season and was named the American League Reliever of the Month for September.

His job clearly defined for 2026, Smith authored a dominant campaign that saw him named to the AL All-Star Team and tie for the most saves in the major leagues with 41. Six of those saves came over a crucial two-week stretch in mid-September when the Guardians surged past the Chicago White Sox to win the AL Central and earn a bye into the American League Division Series.

Those same White Sox put the Guardians on the brink of elimination by winning the first two games of the ALDS, but Cleveland completed an historic comeback that culminated with four Guardians pitchers combining for a MLB record 21 strikeouts in 2-0 victory. Smith closed the game and the series by striking out four of the five batters he faced.

Now, he and the rest of Cleveland will try to ride this wave of momentum into the Fall Classic for the first time since 2016. Should they eliminate the favoured Rays, the Guardians will once again be heavy underdogs against either the Milwaukee Brewers or the LA Dodgers.

But just like Smith as their closer, it’s a role the Guardians have been able to thrive in.

Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Phil Long)