Cade Smith gets brutally honest on finding success as Guardians closer

The Cleveland Guardians have one of the best closers in MLB on their roster. Cade Smith has continued to improve and he recently recorded his 15th save of the 2026 season. Not only does Smith lead the league in saves, but his career-high is 16 saves. He seems to be on the verge of having a true breakout season. The Guardians closer recently discussed his role as the closer during an interview with MLB Network Radio.

“I’ve made some adjustments for sure like handling a little bit of that extra time,” Smith said. “… Coming in in the fifth or sixth inning versus waiting until the ninth. There’s just more time from a practical standpoint… There’s also learning to deal with those stretches of couple extended days off which ends up feeling like a super long time but it’s really only two or three or four days.

“And then dealing with the days pitching very frequently at a high interval, that’s kind of fun. I love to pitch, I love to be in there.”

The Guardians have a number of breakout stars on their roster. Cleveland leads the American League Central standings at the moment. The Guardians have had plenty of players step up.

The ball club likely would not be where it is at without Smith. He established himself as a star reliever in recent seasons. Now he is proving that he can handle closer duties for a competitive team.

The Guardians are currently playing the Detroit Tigers as they are looking to take a 3-0 series lead.

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