The Cleveland Guardians announced some injury updates for some of their pitchers, including one that had a sizable role in the bullpen in recent seasons on Thursday.
Reliever Trevor Stephan would undergo a reconstruction of his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the next 7-to-14 days. Following symptoms persisting from right elbow discomfort the right hander had been experiencing, additional opinions had been sought out. It was determined that Stephan's UCL was not providing adequate stability, which led to more stress and discomfort.
Guardians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti spoke to reporters on Thursday about Stephan's injury and the process of evaluating this injury. "Trevor really wanted to find a way to pitch and stay active, but as we got additional opinions from the various medical experts, they kind of reached a conclusion that it was probably in Trevor's best interest to get surgery now, and that would put him in the best chance to be the best version of himself moving forward." Antonetti told reporters Thursday. "We got a lot of opinions, a number of people weighed in, but that's where we left it and now we'll just focus on supporting Trevor and helping him get back to his best form."
Stephan, 28, had signed a four-year, $10 million extension last March, prior to the start of the 2023 season. He had a 7-7 record, 4.06 ERA, and 75 strikeouts in 68.2 innings pitched in 2023.
Following a standout rookie campaign, starting pitcher Gavin Williams will start the season on the injured list. Williams had an MRI and was told that everything looked ok structurally, but will need time to ramp up before the season. He will need another three to four days before he begins throwing.
In addition to Stephan and Williams, the club also announced that prospect Daniel Espino would not pitch in 2024 following discomfort in his shoulder, which was discovered to be an injury to his shoulder capsule and rotator cuff.
"It's heartbreaking in a lot of ways," Antonetti said of Espino's injury on Thursday. "There is not a person that could do any more than Daniel has. In every time he's faced an obstacle, he commits fully to the rehab process. He goes above and beyond everything that our athletic training staff, our strength coach asked, and he does all of that while continuing to be an extraordinary teammate."
"I just feel for Daniel that he's going to have another lengthy rehab in front of him," Antonetti continued. "On the encouraging side is he has a great mindset. He knows he's going to persevere through this and he's going to benefit in his mind. He says he'll overcome these obstacles and be better for it, be a better person and ultimately a better pitcher."
Espino, 23, was widely regarded as a top prospect in the organization and the #16 prospect in all of baseball back in 2021. He has not pitched since 2022. He underwent surgery on the same shoulder last May and had been rehabbing this offseason.
Stephan, 28, signed a four-year extension through the 2028 season last March.
