🔥 HOT NEWS: Inside Cleveland’s pitching powerhouse, Carl Willis emerges as the secret mastermind turning the Guardians into a development machine ⚡.NL

CLEVELAND, Ohio — While José Ramírez rightfully dominates headlines in Cleveland, there’s another figure whose impact on the Guardians might be just as significant, despite operating largely behind the scenes: pitching coach Carl Willis.

The Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America recognized Willis’s contributions by awarding him the Frank Gibbons/Steve Olin Good Guy Award, highlighting not just his accessibility to media, but his profound impact on the organization’s renowned pitching development system.

“The man speaks in quotes that make it really easy for reporters to write about and digest and learn about the art of pitching,” explained Joe Noga, cleveland.com Guardians beat reporter, during a recent podcast. “And that’s really one of the reasons why he was such an obvious choice for this award.”

But Willis’s value extends far beyond his media friendliness. Under his guidance, the Guardians’ pitching staff has consistently ranked among baseball’s elite. Despite rotation injuries and an influx of young arms in 2025, Cleveland’s starters finished fifth in the American League with a 3.86 ERA. The bullpen, meanwhile, posted the second-best ERA in the American League at 3.44.

What makes Willis particularly effective is his blend of old-school wisdom from his nine-year MLB pitching career with a willingness to embrace modern analytics.

“He pitched in the big leagues for nine years mostly as a reliever,” said Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. “He’s adapted to the new analytics, he works with pitchers in the offseason.”

Perhaps most impressive is Willis’s track record of developing Cy Young Award winners. “He’s coached five Cy Young winners throughout his various stops in the big leagues,” Hoynes noted. “C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Shane Bieber in Cleveland, Felix Hernandez in Seattle, Rick Porcello in Boston.”

Willis’s approach goes beyond mechanical adjustments. He provides his pitchers with the mental tools needed to succeed at the highest level. As Hoynes explained, “When he starts talking pitching, you could just kind of sit there and let him go. It’s really fun because he lets you in on not only the mechanics of it, but just the mental approach you have to have to do the job.”

This holistic approach was on full display with Gavin Williams in 2025. Willis worked with the young right-hander throughout the offseason, helping him refine his pitch mix and develop into a front-of-the-rotation starter. Such behind-the-scenes development work rarely makes headlines but proves critical to Cleveland’s consistent pitching success.

What separates Willis from other pitching coaches is his ability to communicate complex concepts in accessible ways. When reporters ask about a specific pitcher, Willis doesn’t just provide surface-level analysis – he delivers comprehensive insights that reveal the intricate process behind pitcher development.

The Guardians have built a reputation as a pitching factory over the past decade, consistently producing quality arms despite budget constraints. While the front office deserves credit for identifying talent, Willis’s ability to maximize that talent has been the not-so-secret ingredient in Cleveland’s recipe for pitching success.

As the Guardians look toward 2026, Willis’s influence will be crucial in developing the next wave of Cleveland pitchers. His combination of technical knowledge, communication skills, and proven track record makes him one of baseball’s most valuable coaching assets – even if he doesn’t always get the recognition he deserves.

Want to hear more about Willis’s impact and the Guardians’ award winners? Check out the full Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast for an in-depth discussion on the team’s brightest stars and unsung heroes.

Podcast transcript

Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynsie, over the weekend, the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Raiders association of America announced its annual awards. No surprise, Jose Ramirez named the Bob Feller man of the Year award winner. It’s the fourth time in his career that Jose has won the award. Emblematic of the guardian’s best player on the field during the 2025 season. Steve Olin, Frank Gibbons good guy award went to Carl Will, the Guardians pitching coach, for his ability to work with the media and just being an all around great source and person to talk to. What’d you think of the awards that the baseball writers in Cleveland got together and voted on and handed out this week and just who they went to.

Paul Hoynes: You know, no big surprise with Jose Ramirez. Although there was a lot of spirited kind of debate there. There was a lot of guys were mentioned, Stephen Kwan, Gav Williams. There was, you know, a lot of talk, a lot of debate. But in the end, you know, Jose really did have probably carried the team again, but had their most meaningful season as well. The fourth time he’s won the, the award. The baseball writers have been handing this award out since 1946. Joe Bill Veeck was the first guy to win it, the man of the Year award. And Jose’s the only, only player, slash front office guy that has, that has won it four years. And the way he’s played Joe since, he’s really kind of become a regular. He could have won it almost every year. Really, really, it’s, it’s easy to vote for Jose. But I, I really like the, I like the debate we had at our annual meeting.

Joe Noga: Yeah, Cade Smith, the other player who was considered as a nominee for the award and like you said, really over the last eight years or so, you could really name Jose the, the winner every year. That, that’s one of those things. It’s like, you know, why doesn’t LeBron win the MVP every year? That was, it’s the same sort of debate. It leads to conversation about renaming awards eventually for, for people when, you know, giving them the award is not enough. You have to rename the award at some point. And that’s a topic of conversation that I’m sure in, in years to come, either, you know, a new award comes up or this one gets renamed for him or, or co named for him because you know, when you think of, you know, the Cleveland franchise, you think Bob Feller as the, as the greatest player in franchise history. But Jose Ramirez is on Their trajectory is on the career path to overtake Bob Feller as the greatest player in club history.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, he certainly is on the right track this year. I mean, you know this. And he’s doing it, Joe. I mean he’s what, 33. And this year he hits 283. He plays 158 games, scores 103 runs, 34 doubles, three triples, 30 home runs, 85 RBIs. He does 30, 40 again for the second straight year. Eight, six, three OPS, Gold Glove finalist, All Star and Silver Slugger award. I mean it’s like he just cranks these seasons out and you know, and it’s not easy for sure. You know, when you see him every day you realize that.

Joe Noga: Yeah. And it’s, it’s when that level of production becomes the expectation that, you know, you’ve, you’ve entered, you know, sort of a different level with Jose Ramirez and, and that really is the case here. We expect those, those kind of performances and that kind of recognition. Fourth time he’s been selected as a part of the, the all MLB team. Two times as a first teamer, two times as a second teamer, he was a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award. Again, all of this is stuff that goes on the resume and, and says that level of consistency over a long period of time gets you in the conversation for Cooperstown. Certainly not to put the cart before the horse in, in any way, shape or form, but Jose Ramirez is definitely on that trajectory. But just looking at what he did, you know, in this particular season, why you can’t overlook or can’t avoid or deny just the force that he was, uh, his, his performance really did propel and carry the guardians to that 15 and a half game comeback. They don’t make that run without Jose in the middle of the lineup and, and what he’s able to produce.

Paul Hoynes: And it’s interesting, Joe. You know, you talk to players that have played with him and have moved on, you know, to different teams, and the one thing they always bring up is that it is that he sets the tone for the team. Pitchers and hitters, the whole, the 25 other guys. Even as Votus said, the coaching staff, when your best guy plays every day and you bust it every day, nobody else can take a half step because you’re going to have to answer to him or I don’t even know if you have to answer to him. He’s, he’s the guy, he sets the tone for the whole club. And when you hear guys, it’s one thing For a teammate to say that. But when you hear guys that have moved on, that have gone to other teams and maybe they don’t see that kind of guy on that, their current team, but when they, but they always reflect back to Ramirez, you know, you know, kind of setting the standard for the ball club and, and no one and everyone else follows and you know, that’s the thing that always strikes me about Oz.

Joe Noga: Yeah, the. You talk about setting the standard. You know, he became the, the franchise’s all time leader in extra base hits this season. He set the club record for multi homer games this season. And he’s just at the, at the top or are near the top of just about every category for Cleveland now and within the next year or so could surpass all those totals. Could be the number one guy in just about every home, every, every total. You know, he wants that home run title more than anything. And it’s, it’s just, it’s been a joy to watch, a pleasure to watch. And it was easy to recognize him again as the Bob Feller man of the year award. What about the good guy? What about Carl Willis? This is one that, that just puts a big smile on your face when we’re able to, to vote for a guy like Carl Willis and give him some recognition as, you know, what a joy it was to get, you know, five minutes with the guy just to talk baseball, to talk pitching and pretty much every day and just the way that he goes about his business, it really stands out.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah. And you just look at the success this ball club has had from a pitching point of view. You know, 2024, they struggled with the rotation, they had injuries, they had young guys coming up trying to, you know, survive in the big leagues. But this year, you know, the rotation, you know, finishes fifth in the era in, in the American League with a 3.86 ERA. You know, the bullpen really kind of, you know, you know, was the best bullpen in baseball in 2024 this year. You know, they kind of downs, but they still finish with the second best ERA in, in, in the American League. They go 32 and 24, 47 with a 3.44 ERA, the second best in the big leagues. I mean, in the American leagues. You know, Carl, you know, just, you know, just, you know, he, he has that, that touch with pitchers. He, you know, he’s, he’s kind of old school. He was, you know, he pitched in the big leagues for nine years mostly as a reliever. You know, he’s kind of had his good Good, you know, good seasons, bad seasons, pitch with two World Series teams. So, you know, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s, and you know, he’s adapted to the, to the new analytics, the works with pitchers in the off season. He’s really fun to listen to and he’s always generous with his time with us. And when he starts talking pitching, you know, you could just kind of sit there and let him go. Joe, it’s, it’s really fun because he lets, he really lets you in on not only the mechanics of it, but just the mental approach you have to, have to do the job.

Joe Noga: Yeah, he really does do a great job of talking about the players and talking about sort of the behind the scenes sort of things that it takes to get them to where they need to be. Sometimes it’s just as much you just sit there and you throw out a name, uh, you say, hey Carl, tell us about what, what Cade Smith’s up to. And all of a sudden, you know, you’ve got three, four minutes of, of transcribing to do what he’s said and he’s given you two, three stories to, to work off of there with the, the idea of what Cade Smith’s been working on, particularly this year, the job that he did with Gavin Williams, working with him just even in the off season before he got to, to spring training. But then the, the buildup that he did and what he was able to accomplish during the season in terms of adding pitches, refining pitches to his mix, and really, you know, beating that front of the line, top starter option, you know, that work alone qualifies him for, you know, an award of some sort. But then to sort of peel back the curtain and give us a look and an idea of what went into all that and to do it in a way that, you know, the man speaks in quotes and, and he speaks in, you know, 500 word chunks of quotes that make it really easy for reporters to write about and digest and learn about the art of pitching. And that’s really one of the reasons why he was such a, an obvious choice for this, this award. The other guys that were considered for the award, so like Carl Willis, Austin Hedge is obviously a guy who you look forward to interviewing in the, the locker room pregame, post game because he speaks in, in, in, you know, usable chunks of, of quotes that you can use. Stephen Vogt, Stephen Kwan and Austin Controlis one of the guardians assistant communications directors. They were all nominees for this year’s award. But but yeah, Carl Willis really stands out As a guy who, who helps a reporter do his job day in and day out.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah. And, you know, and it’s just not talk. I mean, you know, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s coached five Cy Young winners throughout his various stops in, in the big leagues. C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Jane Bieber in Cleveland, Felix Hernandez in Seattle, Rick Porcello in Boston. You know, there’s, there’s, there’s some metal behind that. Those, the words as well.

Joe Noga: Yeah. So a lot of, you know, the recognition is great for, for Jose, for Carl Willis, but, you know, these are awards that we vote on every year and it was sort of our way to wrap up the season and recognize these guys and just look forward to, you know, getting the opportunity to maybe present these awards to them on, you know, sometime in April, early on in the first home stand of the season.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, definitely. It’s, you know, this, you know, this, these awards go way, way back. Well, before me, and that’s saying something.

Joe Noga: Yeah, I was gonna say that’s.

Paul Hoynes: They used to do the, the ribs and roast, you know, like winter banquet. The baseball writers had put it on and you know, they put a, have it in a big hall. They’d invite the players in and, you know, give the awards. And I guess I, you know, I, I think I went to one, maybe one or two, but I, I.

Joe Noga: Tuxedo?

Paul Hoynes: No, no, I did not. I was sitting in the back.

Joe Noga: I’m shocked.

Paul Hoynes: But I remember Rush Schneider telling me about it. So it was, it was. Yeah, it was always. I guess it was a heck of.

Joe Noga: An event for getting the players together in the off season and giving them awards and probably having some, some drinks around and available was probably a really good time. So. Yeah, it’s a great look back. All right. There was some news over the weekend. On Friday, the non tender deadline, Major League Baseball’s non tender deadline hit and the guardians did announce some moves. They signed three to or agreed to avoid our arbitration with three players. Nolan Jones, David Fry and Matt Festa will all be back for Cleveland in 2026 after agreeing to deals there. They non tendered three players, including Will Brennan, Sam Henches. As we predicted, those guys coming off of injuries, as well as Nick Enright, another player who had elbow surgery at the end of the year. Enright’s story, sort of an inspirational one, but kind of a disappointment at the end of the season that he hurt the elbow. And now in addition to, you know, beating cancer and making it all the way to the big leagues, now he has to come all the way back from elbow reconstruction. Just what’d you think of the moves and were you surprised by any of them?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, you know, I guess not. Not a lot of surprises there. We had found out about Enright before the non tender date. So we knew, you know, that they had, you know, cut ties with him and when they had DFA’d him. And best of luck to him too because a good guy and he’s got a lot on his plate right now, Joe, so hopefully, you know, he can overcome these, these two obstacles. I mean that’s, that’s a lot, that’s a lot for a young guy and his family to handle. You know, with Will Brennan and Hentis, you know, I think the injuries really hurt them. Obviously they really hurt them but they, they kept them back. They really, they, they didn’t play a whole lot last year. Henches hasn’t really played for, for much of the last two years as he recovers. So that was almost expected. Big surprise was to me at least, you know, Nolan Jones signing. They give him $2 million one year deal and it just, you know, he did not play well last season, Joe, just to be frank about it. And it was a struggle for him from the start. And you know, I know he’s a second round pick of the Guardians that they, you know, traded away. They brought him back, you know, late in spring training last year with the Rockies. But he just never got, never got set for me, Joe. He never got off on the right foot and I wonder what they’re expecting of him. And with Festa and Frye, I thought they had earned a, they’d earned a chance to come back definitely. I thought they helped them. Frey is kind of a leader on the ball club. He’s got good right handed power and he came back even though, you know, he was still recovering from that Tommy John surgery on his elbow and played the second half of the season. I think they’re, you know, I think, you know, he should, he should be a much more productive hitter. This, you know, in 2026 and Festa gave them everything they, they needed. You know, a guy that can give you 50 to 60 appearances and he’s just the kind of guy the Guardians always seem to find.

Joe Noga: Yeah, that experienced guy who can, can p a variety of roles for Festa. I think that was a good move to bring him back as well. They did tender contract offers to the other 32 players on the 40 man roster who were either arbitration eligible or pre arb. That includes Steven Kwan, who you Know it’s, he didn’t sign or didn’t agree to a contract right away. Is that a good sign or a bad sign? Because in the past we’ve seen guys like Shane Bieber who were in a similar position position to Shane, to Stephen Kwan agree right away and you sort of wonder if that closes closed a window for negotiation for a contract extension. But is the fact that Quan didn’t agree right away a good sign or a bad sign?

Paul Hoynes: I think that’s just business as usual with the guys that are eligible for arbitration. You know, if they can’t sign them, when they do, you know, it’s usually, you know, with kind of, you know, it’s a stick in the carrot idea. You go to some guys if you don’t sign. Now we’re going to, you know, we’re going to, you know, we aren’t going to offer you a contract. We’re not going to tend to use. The guy either signs or becomes a free agent, takes his chances with free agents and sometimes that, that kind of speeds up the action. But with Quan, you know, you know, you probably knew you weren’t going to sign, you know, you weren’t going to reach a deal right now, so you offer him the same, just you offer him a contract, just, you know, it’s a paper move to, you know, okay, we’ve done our due diligence now we’ll, we’ll negotiate further down the road. The, they exchanged numbers sometime in January, so the salary figures. So you know, this is just, you know, kind of to keep the process going.

Joe Noga: They can still negotiate with Kwon right up until any hearing takes place. But like you said, the, they exchange numbers in January and the process plays out that way. If they’re talking extension at all with him, this is a good thing. But you know, we don’t know what, what’s going on behind the scenes in that reg. I’d say that, you know, if Quan had immediately agreed to something that might have been a bad sign just because they, that would have ended the need for it to negotiate right then or the urgency to negotiate right then. So yeah, I think, you know, leaving it still open is, is a, is a positive in terms of if you think Quan is going to sign some sort of long term extension. All the possibilities are still open and on the table right now.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, definitely. I mean they’ve taken a stance, you know, the last three or four years like I think most teams have when they, when they come to the date where they exchange salary figures, what Quan thinks he’s worth what the ball club thinks he’s worth. And as we said in January, if they don’t get a deal done, then, then they take the file and or trial approach where you know, you either get, if you have to, if you have to file your, your salary demands, then we’re going to arbitration, which takes place sometimes in fe. So that might be, you know, I mean, and it still doesn’t matter. It still doesn’t mean you can’t get a deal done, an extension done, but it puts a little more pressure on the situation.

Joe Noga: Back to David Fry and Nolan Jones. They’re agreeing to salaries. Fry. Interesting, because I think MLB Trade rumors.com had him projected at like 1.2 million and he agreed at 1.375. So David Fry actually got a little bit more than what was expected of him this season. And obviously the numbers from MLB Trade Rumors are a projection. But you know, does it say something about how much the organization values Fry, how much this coaching staff values Fry and the versatility that he brings? You know, we’ve spoken ad nauseam about how the lack of versatility without him on the roster and without him being able to move behind the plate and play catcher last year kind of hurt the guardians. But that’s going to be available to them, you know, if everything goes according to plan this season coming up.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, definitely. He really has heavy impact on the roster when he’s healthy and can play first base, he can play left or right field, he can move behind the plate, he can even play third base, I think in a pinch. So this is a guy that, you know, they, they missed that, that aspect of his game last year, Joe, because was recovering from Tommy John surgery. So I think. Yeah, and, and plus he’s a right handed hitter, Joe, and they don’t have a lot of right handed hitters and he’s a right handed hitter who can knock, who, you know, can drive the ball out of the park. So I think all that played into, you know, what, what he agreed to in, in arbitration there.

Joe Noga: Yeah, as far as Nolan Jones goes, again we go back to kind of a head scratcher of a move. Is there, is there anything they can do with him in terms of either making him a trade ship or is he a guy who they, they really do see as a piece that they can use in center or right field?

Paul Hoynes: I don’t know, Joe. I mean, got so many kind of outfielders in center and right field, so many options and none of them really kind of play every day, do they? I mean, they’ve got like 10 guys out there that can play both positions and, you know, they platoon them. So I think Jones has just added to the mix the fact that they have a pretty good line on him. I guess they know this guy. They must think. Somebody must think, you know, there’s more in the tank there. He’s, as you pointed out in your story on Sunday, or he had the one good year in Colorado, but we haven’t seen that, that Nolan Jones since before or since. So, you know, that’s, That’s a big question. I mean, okay, the guy looks, looks, looks the part. He’s what, 6, 4, 6, 5, 2, 20. You know, he can, you know, he plays good defense, he’s got a good ar, but we just haven’t seen that production at the plate unless they know something. We don’t know, Joe. And it certainly seems in this case that that’s the point. That’s the case.

Joe Noga: Well, for a front office that’s, you know, constantly going back to. Well, you know, we don’t want to bring in veteran stopgap guys because we don’t want to block development opportunities for. And now you’ve got guys like Chase Dilaudor and George Valera who’ve been up and who have, you know, we, we’ve at least seen them and we want to see more of them. Bringing back Nolan Jones just seems to run against that whole philosophy if, if he’s going to be around and be in the mix and be a guy out there, unless you, you need somebody to, to play a little more often because, you know, at least a veteran guy who knows where to go and what to do because the, the young guys haven’t done it yet.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah. And the young guys you just mentioned have all had a, an injury filled past. You know, the one, you know, I mean, until he, you know, pulled the, the oblique at the end of the year, he was, he was available most of the season. So, you know, I think injury or the threat of injury or the possibility of injury plays a part in that as well.

Joe Noga: Yeah, I guess you don’t want to go into the season with starting two rookies at two of the outfield positions, so having guys with a little more experience around might. Might be the reason why they kept him. And really, for most teams, the $2 million price tag isn’t. It isn’t a big deal. But, you know, for Cleveland, that’s, that’s $2 million that could be invested elsewhere or spent elsewhere or whatever. You know, we’ll see what Nolan Jones does in the off season. We’ll see how he comes into spring training. And if he makes the club, that’ll be that’ll be interesting to follow. All right. Only that’s going to wrap up today’s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. We will check back in with you again tomorrow.

Paul Hoynes: Good deal.

Joe Noga: Okay, I’m going to.