Guardians sign reliever Bryan Shaw to one-year deal

One of the most often-used relievers in baseball is returning to Cleveland.

On Friday, the Guardians announced the signing of reliever Bryan Shaw to a one-year deal for the 2022 season.

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Shaw had a resurgent season of sorts in 2021, posting a 3.49 ERA in 77⅓ innings with 71 strikeouts. It was easily his best season since 2017 after he struggled for three years with the Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners, when he posted a 5.61 ERA with the Rockies and then was barely able to get on the mound with the Mariners.

Shaw will again return to pitch for Cleveland and manager Terry Francona, joining the Opening Day bullpen mix.

"We had talked to [the Guardians] pre-lockout, and a couple of teams obviously, and then the lockout happened and that was what it was," Shaw said Friday. "Post lockout, we talked to a few different teams here and there. We got to a point where Tito called me and was like 'Hey, why aren't you signed yet?' I said, 'Because I'm waiting for you guys.'

"[Mike Chernoff] called and basically we hammered out a deal pretty quickly, actually. Got it done, got it brought back here. Obviously, I was excited to come back. This team, we could have been a lot better last year minus the injuries we had. So hopefully we can continue where we should have been last year and keep it going."

Shaw's signing came on the heels of the announcement that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association had agreed to expand active rosters from 26 to 28 players through May 1 of this season.

It will allow teams to carry one and potentially two, if they choose, extra pitchers. It's valuable roster space while teams contend with the issues of a shortened spring training and starting pitchers not being fully stretched out like they normally would be for Opening Day.

Shaw, at 34, is by far the elder statesman of the bullpen. The team sees some added value in bringing in a veteran to the group.

"A teammate’s words, a teammate’s advice and sometimes direction carries so much more weight than a coach, regardless who that coach is, because that teammate is out there with them, and they’re trying to pick each other up day in and day out," pitching coach Carl Willis said. "We live and die with every pitch in the dugout. I think the guys sitting beside you in the bullpen, they can commiserate and they’ve been there and they know the feeling and it’s just a relationship that’s hard for a coach to get quite that far.

"We try, but I think it’s invaluable having veteran guys who are good guys and want what's best for the team to help the younger kids."

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians sign reliever Bryan Shaw to one-year deal