Triston McKenzie has had a rough start to the season, allowing 11 runs over his first 13 innings. The lanky righty has issued 12 walks with just five strikeouts. His swinging strike rate has plummeted to 5.6% while his velocity has backed up. McKenzie’s average fastball has sat at 90.9 MPH, down from its standard 92-93 range.
McKenzie entered the season hoping for a rebound after his 2023 campaign was mostly lost to injury. He began last year on the shelf with a teres major strain in his throwing shoulder. He returned in June, made two starts, and then was shut back down after spraining the UCL in his throwing elbow. That initially led to concern that he might go under the knife, but he opted for non-surgical rehab. McKenzie made it back for a pair of appearances in the final week of the season.
While he was able to get back to the mound, McKenzie clearly hasn’t been operating at peak form. The 26-year-old candidly admitted to Zack Meisel and Jason Lloyd of the Athletic that he’s still unsure whether his decision not to undergo surgery was the correct one. McKenzie told The Athletic that he’s not pitching through pain but conceded the possibility of a serious injury is “always in the back of (his) head.” While he said that hasn’t changed his approach or effort level on the mound, he clearly hasn’t found his best stuff.
Meisel’s and Lloyd’s piece is worth a full perusal, as they also speak with former Cleveland reliever Bryan Shaw and Guards starter Shane Bieber about the health and contractual considerations a player weighs when deciding whether to undergo surgery. Bieber, of course, opted for non-surgical rehab for elbow inflammation last season. After two excellent starts this year, he required Tommy John surgery — a brutal development six months before his first trip to free agency. McKenzie has three seasons of remaining arbitration control and won’t get to the open market until the 2026-27 offseason.
Bieber’s absence makes it all the more significant that McKenzie is able to get back on track in short order. The Guardians have also been without Gavin Williams thus far after the second-year righty experienced elbow discomfort of his own this spring. McKenzie has been joined Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee and Carlos Carrasco in the rotation. Of that quartet, only Carrasco has an ERA below 4.82 so far.
The Guardians have nevertheless gotten out to a great start behind an excellent bullpen and a surprisingly potent offense. They enter today’s series finale against the Red Sox with a 12-6 record. Still, the rotation will feel tenuous — at least until Williams’ return — if McKenzie’s struggles continue.
In the short term, it seems journeyman righty Ben Lively will hold down the #5 spot. He somewhat surprisingly landed a major league contract from Cleveland after being waived by the Reds last winter. Lively started the season on the IL after being delayed by an illness, but he was activated for his team debut last night. The 32-year-old worked five innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts in a loss to Boston.
Lively is out of options, so the Guardians need to keep him on the big league club or put him on waivers. That perhaps gave him the edge over Xzavion Curry, who was optioned back to Triple-A Columbus as the corresponding move for Lively’s reinstatement. Curry had returned from his own virus-related IL stint to make his season debut on Monday. He worked five scoreless frames with a trio of strikeouts and could be the top depth option if anyone from the current rotation suffers an injury.
In other Guardians news, the team placed infield prospect Angel Martínez on the 60-day injured list yesterday. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, Martínez is undergoing surgery to repair a hamate fracture in his wrist. The 22-year-old has yet to make his MLB debut. He split last season between the top two levels of the minors, hitting .251/.321/.392 with 14 homers.
McKenzie is a perfect change of scenery candidate. A new coach can get to him with a different message and he has every opportunity to become a stud.
Mckenzie was excellent before getting hurt. He has been part of the pitching factory in Cleveland.
He hardly needs a change of scenery.
I agree.
I think McKenzie is a perfect TJS candidate. He likely should have gone that route as opposed to rehab based on what he’s showing stuff wise.
I think it’s tacky to talk about players injuries as if you know something they dont.
It’s the internet. He’s actually an orthopedic surgeon-just ask him.
He stayed at a Holiday Inn
He doesn’t need a change of scenery at all. Talent and ability have never been the question; it’s always been health related with him.
the 26 year old who’s pitched 370 innings of 5+ WAR ball needs a change of scenery? what are you talking about?
this feels like it was written by a yankees fan wishcasting to trade for him at pennies on the dollar
It would be impossible for him to improve under any conditions outside of Cleveland and no other coach could possibly have a fresh idea that would improve him. Glad we cleared that up.
You’re acting like he’s not being coached well or that he’s part of an organization that doesn’t know how to develop pitchers.
Again, this isn’t a question of whether he’s unlocked his talent or not — it’s whether his health will let him do it consistently. A change of scenery wouldn’t make any difference in that regard.
There’s no way of knowing that and yet you say it with such certainty.
I don’t know about this one it always seems with the exception of Tanaka and even he came back with diminished stuff are able to get around eventually having the surgery. Even TJS isn’t guaranteed look at Thor as a recent example. But it seems like it’s delaying the inevitable. It’s a shame because I really like McKenzie.
Cleveland pitching ‘factory’ is winding down, like many/most other factories in NEO. They need to go outside and get an MLB pitcher sooner, rather than later. Oakland will likely seek kings ransom for Blackburn so look elsewhere.
They brought up 3 very good rookie starters last year alone.
Oakland is not good at getting a king’s ransom even when they trade players who deserve one.
For proof, here’s the starters they have in AAA right now:
Barria – Minor league free agent, pitched the last 6 years with the Angels and *they* found him expendable
Parsons – DFA’d by the Blue Jays, acquired in a trade for cash
Gillespie – Rule V pick from the minor league portion of the Rule V draft
Kent – Cash trade after he was likely about to be DFA’s by the Rangers
Oller – Minor league free agent, on 3rd team since being part of the return for Chris Bassit
Stanley – 11th round pick, currently a 5+ ERA, has just 8 IP in 3 starts
Dion – 9th round pick, currently boasting an ERA above 7
There are two main reasons for this. One is obvious- injuries. They would have Curry in place there to begin the year if not for his illness, and for the injury to Gavin Williams. They’re also down Joey Cantillo and Daniel Espino, top prospects with murky futures
The other reason is that a number of their recent starters ended up being bullpen arms. Tanner Burns was supposed to be the next guy but he transitioned last year. Hunter Gaddis is now a (really good) RP. Curry would also probably be in that boat if their depth wasn’t so thin, he excelled last year in a fireman role but struggled as a starter.
In a world without injuries their MLB staff would be Bieber, Williams, McKenzie, Allen, Bibee, with Lively or Carrasco in a swing role. Their AAA rotation would have Espino, Cantillo, Curry, Dion, Stanley
if mckenzie opted for TJ last spring he might have made it back by season’s end this year. instead, like many others, he’s grinding thru injuries, and only making it worse. if he goes under the knife at some point this season he wont be back til 2026 probably
Hopefully he can rebound. McKenzie is a guy that’s really easy to root for.