CLEVELAND — C.J. Kayfus has had as impressive of a season as any hitter in the Guardians’ farm system. Saturday, he will get his first shot to impact Cleveland’s big league club.
The Guardians promoted Kayfus (their No. 4 prospect, No. 66 in MLB, according to MLB Pipeline) from Triple-A Columbus on Saturday. Outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez was optioned to Columbus in a corresponding move.
Cleveland also added Carlos Hernández (whom they claimed off waivers from Detroit on Thursday) to its roster, and optioned lefty Tim Herrin to Columbus.
Kayfus is in Cleveland’s starting lineup vs. Minnesota on Saturday, batting eighth and playing right field.
Kayfus, 23, was the Guardians’ third-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Miami. A left-handed hitter, he has split the ‘25 season with Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus, though no matter the level, all Kayfus has done is hit.
Kayfus entered Saturday with a .300/.390/.539 slash line with 18 doubles, eight triples, 14 homers and 54 RBIs, with 44 walks and 93 strikeouts over 86 games between Akron and Columbus this season. He earned a promotion from Akron to Columbus on April 28.
Over 68 games with the Clippers, Kayfus has slashed .283/.367/.526 with 14 doubles, four triples, 13 homers and 43 RBIs with 33 walks and 79 strikeouts. He also represented the Guardians in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game last month.
A first baseman by trade, Kayfus has seen the majority of his playing time there this season (387 2/3 innings over 47 games), but he has also received a steady dose of playing time in the outfield. Kayfus has made 24 appearances in right field (193 innings) and 13 in left (106 1/3).
The Guardians value versatility, and Kayfus’ ability to play the outfield likely helped make his pathway to the Majors this season clearer, given Carlos Santana and Kyle Manzardo are currently on the first base depth chart.
Along with Santana and Manzardo at first base, the corner outfield picture includes All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner Steven Kwan in left, and Nolan Jones and Daniel Schneemann as options in right. But given how Kayfus has hit, he has earned a shot to help in Cleveland. And if his bat travels to the big leagues, the Guardians will have no issue getting him into the lineup.
“As I’ve shared before,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said on Thursday, “C.J. has made great progress this year in his continued development as a player, [not just] with his progression offensively, but now defensively, where he’s added some versatility.
“So we’ve talked about this a few times in the past: The more positions players can play capably, the better chances they’ll have to impact the Major League team. And C.J. is among that group of players in Columbus that we think has a chance to help us in the second half.”
His first chance will come on Saturday.
