Cleveland Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie has been shut down from throwing for at least two weeks after an MRI confirmed a right teres major muscle strain.
McKenzie, 25, exited his Sunday Cactus League start against the Cincinnati Reds after just one inning with apparent arm tightness. The Guardians stated on Monday that McKenzie could miss up to eight weeks.
The young right-hander has been one of Cleveland's rotation mainstays over the previous two-plus seasons. In 2022, McKenzie finished with an 11-11 record and a 2.96 earned run average over 191.1 innings. McKenzie also pitched a gem in the Guardians' American League Wild Card clincher against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing just two hits over six shutout innings.
With McKenzie now set to miss the start of the upcoming regular season, questions now surface as to what the Guardians may do to fill out their rotation. The club whose starting pitching core changed and swapped arms countless times throughout the previous season could return to a name utilized in the home stretch of 2022.
Such names may include young pitchers Hunter Gaddis, Konnor Pilkington, and Xzavion Curry - all of whom picked up multiple starts throughout last season. Pilkington went 1-2 over 11 starts in 2022, posting a 3.88 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 32 walks over 58 innings, while Curry and Gaddis each started a pair of contests, posting a combined 0-3 record.
The Guardians' campaign begins on Thursday, Mar. 30 in Seattle.
