Shushkewich: Sabrowski reflects on rookie MLB season, prepares for 2025

Edmonton Prospects Academy alum Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) made his MLB debut with the Cleveland Guardians in 2025. Photo: Cleveland Guardians

December 14, 2024

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

Stepping onto the mound at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, left-hander Erik Sabrowski doesn’t remember much from the moment that made him a Major League Baseball player with the Cleveland Guardians.

“Nothing can prepare you for the rush of jogging to the mound from a big league bullpen,” said Sabrowski, speaking to the Canadian Baseball Network. “I don’t remember much from what Vogt or Bo (Naylor) said to me in the moment but after I went through my warm-up pitches, I looked towards second base and saw Bobby Witt Jr. and stared down (Yuli) Gurriel in the batter’s box and just started to get to work.”

It’s a moment many baseball players dream of but only few get to experience. For Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.), it was a moment that was years in the making.

The southpaw reliever has dealt with numerous obstacles throughout his career – two Tommy John surgeries, a cancelled 2020 season, and changing organizations in 2021 when the Guardians picked him up in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft – but on a Wednesday night game between two AL Central foes, Sabrowski joined a brotherhood. He was a big leaguer.

“Going into the season, my goal was to reach the major leagues,” said Sabrowski. “My fiancé (at the time) Renée and I have a whiteboard in our kitchen and before I left for Spring Training, I wrote right at the bottom ‘2024 MLB Debut’. I didn’t know when it would happen and I didn’t have a specific date in mind, but it was in the front of our minds to accomplish this goal together. You have that mentality of ‘I am just one level away’ when you are pitching in triple-A and you just want to make that jump and stay there. I wanted to complete that goal.”

The 27-year-old began the 2024 season in the minor leagues, spending most of the campaign in triple-A with the Columbus Clippers. With the Clippers, Sabrowski posted a 4.38 ERA across 27 outings, collecting a 12.9 K/9 with a 1.703 WHIP through 37 innings. Towards the end of August, the Guardians designated Anthony Gose for assignment and Sabrowski got the call that he had been waiting for.

“It wasn’t the most exciting method, not like the ones you see on YouTube when the manager tricks the player or surprises you in his office,” said Sabrowski with a chuckle. “Andy Tracy (Clippers manager) called me at midnight after the game. He’s a pretty funny guy and after leading me on for a hot minute, he got right to the point ‘You’re heading up to Cleveland tomorrow, you worked hard for this so go and make a good impression’.

The first person to find out the good news?

“Renée and her dad were with me in the hotel room when I got the call,” said Sabrowski. “Next I called my mom, who knew right away what was going on - I mean, it was past 10:00 pm back in Edmonton when I called so she knew something was up.”

Funny enough, Sabrowski’s dad had to wait a moment to hear the exciting news.

“I called my dad and I said ‘Hey get everyone together, I have some news to share’ and before I got a chance to tell everyone, the Guardians' travelling secretary called me and I had to hang up on my dad to take that call,” said Sabrowski. “I called him right back after that but he already knew as well what I was about to say. I think it was pretty obvious given the timing of the call and the lead up.”

The news came early into the morning on August 28 and a week later, Sabrowski was standing on the mound in front of 14,000 Royals fans wanting to see him fail.

With the Guardians already down 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Sabrowski was brought in to stop the bleeding and got his first major league strikeout out of the way early, getting Gurriel to chase a slider down in the strike zone to get out of the inning. The Guardians called upon Sabrowski for the eighth inning as well and he produced another zero on the board, allowing just one hit while adding another strikeout.

With his first appearance officially in the books, Cleveland’s road trip continued toward the West Coast and they entered Chavez Ravine to face a Los Angeles Dodgers squad that was in full Shohei Ohtani watch mode. The superstar was chasing a milestone 50-50 season – 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases.

Sabrowski had 12 scoreless relief outings down the stretch for the Cleveland Guardians in 2025. Photo: Bally Sports

Sabrowski’s second big league outing was a tougher task than his debut, as the left-hander entered the game in the bottom of the fourth inning on the tail end of a Mookie Betts home run, with the Dodgers extending their lead to 7-2 over Cleveland. The first batter he faced?

“Facing Freddie Freeman was a good way to start that outing because I just wanted to throw strike one to get ahead and keep the emotions in check,” said Sabrowski. “It’s a Saturday night, this game is kind of getting out of hand, and it’s the iconic Dodger Stadium with Ohtani chasing history.”

The Canuck got the Dodgers' first baseman to chase a fastball down in the zone for strike three and the Edmonton product kept a majority of the Dodgers hitters in check, allowing only a single to Tommy Edman but putting up zero runs on the board while going 2 1/3 innings. He added two more strikeouts to his tally and finished the outing by facing Ohtani himself.

“I faced him (Ohtani) on the back half out of my outing which I think benefited me a lot because I had some batters already under my belt and I was just pumped to be pitching well at Dodger Stadium,” said Sabrowski. “The atmosphere changes every time he steps in the batter’s box - the crowd cheers for him so much more just when he takes the field, almost the same level as someone hitting a game-winning home run. It was an incredible experience.”

And Sabrowski got the better of the Japanese superstar, getting him to fly out to Steven Kwan in left field.

Sabrowski’s incredible September run saw him strike out 19 batters across 12 2/3 innings without allowing a single earned run through eight appearances. He joined an impressive Guardians’ bullpen staff and with Cleveland securing the first spot in the AL Central, Sabrowski was teetering on the edge of making the postseason roster. When the dust settled, the Guardians were taking four Canadians to face the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS: Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), and Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) and Sabrowski.

“Making the postseason roster wasn’t really on my mind in September,” said Sabrowski. “I just wanted to keep pitching well and setting myself up for success. I was confident in my abilities and I felt like if I was chosen (for the postseason), I could produce wherever and whenever I was called upon.”

The Guardians went the distance with the Tigers in the ALDS, besting their division rival in Game 5. Sabrowski appeared in Game 3 and Game 5 in that series, striking out two batters and walking one through 1 2/3 innings.

For the ALCS, the Guardians had to face a strong New York Yankees squad who boasted the likes of Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, and Aaron Judge in the lineup while playing in Yankee Stadium.

“Pitching at Dodger Stadium in early September really helped with that Yankees series in the ALCS,” said Sabrowski. “It is such a different feeling to take the mound against such a historic franchise. I watched the Yankees in the postseason year after year, and everyone knows the history of the organization. And now, instead of seeing them on the TV, I am that guy pitching against the Yankees in front of millions of people. Talk about surreal.”

While the series didn’t go the way the Guardians wanted, Sabrowski held his own against the Bronx Bombers. He did allow the first earned run of his career – showing that the Edmonton Prospects Academy alum is indeed human – but he struck out six Yankees across 3 2/3 innings through three appearances to continue his dominant stretch.

For his first taste of big-league action, Sabrowski impressed many during his brief stint in September and when the stakes were high in October, but he knows that nothing is guaranteed in the game of baseball.

The reliever is already back down in Phoenix at the Guardians’ facility to get ready for next season, with Sabrowski entering Spring Training with the mindset of having to earn his spot in the bullpen. Healthy and ready to compete once again, the Alberta product is looking to find his way onto the Guardians’ Opening Day roster.

“I believe I showed that I could compete at this level but I would be doing myself a disservice by assuming anything is guaranteed when it comes to a roster spot in that bullpen. I am going into this winter with the mentality that I have to fight for a spot right out of the gate and keep working on things to keep getting better – become more consistent on the mound, work on my repetitions, and be ready for a potential 162-game season. I want to force the Cleveland staff to bring me back to the big leagues and be on the right side of any tough decisions the team may have to make.”