The Big Sabrowski: Guardians reliever and Edmonton native savouring Canadian return

Guardians pitcher Erik Sabrowski delivers a pitch in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros in Cleveland on April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/David Richard)

TORONTO — Guardians reliever Erik Sabrowski turned a corner in the Cleveland locker room Saturday afternoon and playfully pointed at the white Maple Leaf emblazoned on a teammate’s coffee cup.

The Edmonton native is playing in his home country for the first time in nearly a decade and loving every minute of it.

“I grew up watching tons of games on TV here and so just the emotions of that, right? How did I get here? I’m on the field now,” Sabrowski said. “But it’s still the same job, same game, but a little more emotional.

“(I’m) a little more amped up just being in Canada.”

Now in his third big-league season with Cleveland, Sabrowski delivered in his first appearance at Rogers Centre on Friday night.

He earned the hold with a clean eighth inning before Vancouver native Cade Smith closed out the 8-6 victory. Another Canadian, Bo Naylor of Mississauga, Ont., was behind the plate.

“It’s fun to watch Erik and Cade throwing to Bo in Toronto, it’s just a pretty cool thing,” said Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. “We’ve had a lot of Canadians on our team since I’ve been here, and it’s just a fun nugget.”

Sabrowski, who has about 20 friends and family members on hand for the weekend series, raised his arms in the air when he got Daulton Varsho to line out to end the eighth inning.

“Even just before the game, hearing the Canadian anthem, that’s the first time I’ve heard that in my professional baseball career,” he said. “So that was pretty cool. And yeah, definitely just a little more emotional being here.”

Sabrowski played both ways for the Edmonton Prospects of the Western Canadian Baseball League back in 2017.

The six-foot-four, 230-pound southpaw was 3-2 with a 2.75 earned-run average that year and posted a .339 batting average over 35 games.

“Being able to play summer ball with some guys I grew up playing with and against in the area, those were some of the best years of my life,” he said before the Guardians’ matinee against the Blue Jays.

A year later, the Cloud County Community College product was selected in the 14th round of the MLB Draft (No. 411 overall) by the San Diego Padres.

He missed the 2019 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery, a procedure that was required again in the fall of 2021.

The Guardians selected him in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft that year and Sabrowski spent the 2023 season at double-A Akron before his shot at the big leagues came in September 2024.

Sabrowski earned his first major-league save that month and posted a 1.69 ERA over five post-season games, striking out eight batters while giving up only five hits.

“A dominant left-handed reliever,” Vogt said. “He’s got one of the best fastballs in the league and he’s got two very good breaking balls to complement it.

“When Erik’s in the strike zone, he’s tough to hit.”

Left elbow inflammation forced him to the injured list for three months last season, but he was effective when he returned with a 1.84 ERA and 12 holds over 33 games.

Entering play Saturday, Sabrowski was 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA this year. Opponents have been held to a .140 average against him.

Now 28, the southpaw said he sometimes reflects on a baseball journey that has had a few challenges along the way.

“I think that’s what helps me not take these days for granted,” he said. “A bad day while playing is a lot better than a good day while rehabbing an injury.

“I’m really fortunate to be in the spot I’m in and hope to keep building off success.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2026.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press