The Guardians announced that Gavin Williams has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, after the right-hander has been sidelined the entire season due to elbow discomfort. Williams will take the rotation spot of fellow righty Triston McKenzie, who has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus. To open a spot for Williams on the 40-man roster, Cleveland designated right-hander Darren McCaughan for assignment.
While Cleveland has long been known for its starting pitching, the rotation has been a surprising weak link for the first-place Guardians, and McKenzie’s 5.11 ERA in 75 2/3 innings has contributed to those struggles. McKenzie leads the majors in both home runs (19) and walks (49), and his -1.0 fWAR is the lowest of any pitcher in baseball with at least 70 innings pitched. Logan Allen is second on that list with -0.5 fWAR and Carlos Carrasco is sixth with 0.1 fWAR, speaking to the Guards’ overall rotation issues.
Some rust was to be expected for McKenzie, considering that he missed virtually all of the 2023 season recovering from a right teres major strain and then a right UCL sprain. However, his struggles have been so severe that a stint in Triple-A might be the best course for McKenzie to get some confidence back, and to work out the control issues that weren’t nearly this severe during his 2020-22 seasons. The former top-100 prospect looked like quite a solid pitcher in those first big years in the Show, and since he is only 26 and still under arbitration control through 2026, the Guardians would naturally love to see McKenzie get his career back on track.
It isn’t exactly a silver lining, but Williams’ own situation gave the Guardians some leeway in optioning McKenzie, as Williams represents a ready-made rotation replacement. Since his rehab assignment began on May 29, the Guards had to activate Williams this weekend, as his 30-day rehab window was about to expire. After his elbow began giving him problems during Spring Training, Williams began the season on the IL and has slowly been ramping up his workload over six minor league outings.
Selected 23rd overall in the 2021 draft, Williams delivered quickly on his top prospect status with an impressive rookie season in 2023. The right-hander posted a 3.29 ERA over 82 innings, though a 4.61 SIERA reflected some middling secondary metrics for Williams, as well as the benefits of a .270 BABIP and 78.3% strand rate.
If Williams can deliver something even midway between his 2023 ERA and SIERA in his return to the mound, the Guardians would probably be satisfied, given both their need for any kind of reliable pitching and the bigger-picture acknowledgement that Williams is still early in his pro career. Since Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively have been the only reliable members of Cleveland’s rotation, the Guards would love to get at least decent work from Williams as a third starter option before seeing if any pitching help is needed at the trade deadline.
McCaughan has already allowed five home runs over 10 2/3 combined innings with the Guardians and Marlins this season, inflating his ERA to 1181. Beyond those extreme problems at keeping the ball in the park, McCaughan also has nine walks and only three strikeouts, making him the odd man out of the Guards’ 40-man roster. A longtime member of the Mariners organization who made his MLB debut in Seattle in 2021, McCaughan was acquired by Miami in a cash considerations deal with the Mariners in February, and the Guardians then picked him up in a similar trade in May.
It’s possible McCaughan could find himself on the move again via trade or waiver claim, though the extent of his struggles might give any interested teams a second thought. The 28-year-old righty has a 5.50 ERA and 10 homers allowed over 54 Triple-A innings as well this season, and while McCaughan’s past Triple-A track record has somewhat comparable bottom-line stats, those numbers were at least posted when pitching with Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Tidy piece of business here
It’s unfortunate that McKenzie is going down but this needed to happen. Logan Allen is on the clock too so hopefully he pitches well today.
I don’t know when Boyd will be ready but Will Dion has been pitching better his last few starts in Columbus and Cantillo is almost back to full health too. I’d have to imagine Allen would be down already if they had anyone better right now.
Also they weren’t necessarily great innings but McCaughan saved the bullpen big time on Thursday so credit to him for that.
Always thought McKenzie would end up as a decent pitcher and was sad he didn’t last past rd 1 of the ’15 draft to give boston a chance at him. Shows (again) how volitile young 18yo’s are in this game, where even the best looking talent can bust.
He’s not a bust dude. He’s pitching through a torn ucl. If he was healthy, he would be one of the better pitchers in the American league
Whether its poor performance or injury, it equals the same. You can call it bust or injury, its the same result.
Its the problem with taking a high school pitcher in the first round, so few ever amount to anything. Way too much risk.
I don’t think his struggles are health related, at least not right now. His velo is back and he’s been hitting 94-96 at times lately, and if he tore a ligament he’d probably still be sitting 89-92 like he was before.
I’m not sure if he got into bad habits coming off of last year and just trying not to fully tear his UCL, but at this point I think it’s more mechanical than anything, and losing confidence probably spiraled it. His control was never really this bad. Hopefully he can get back on track in Columbus because they’ll need him later this season.
“Dude,” he’s not hurt either. No one whose arm is killing them can throw 96 mph (which he hit the other night) or more to the point, can hold major league hitters to a below .200 average on both his slider and curve. The problem is he can’t GET to those excellent pitches because his control of the fastball is so lousy (forget command).
The sad truth is, this has been an issue with Triston his entire career. He has gone through periodic fastball management problems forever. It’s because he’s had this repeatable issue that we know this is largely mechanical, derived from a loss of confidence and conviction. I have no idea what snaps him out of it, but I’m sure it’s frustrating to everyone, most of all to himself. The weight of expectations can crush you. Sometimes being a smart young man–as he is–doesn’t help at all when being an athlete.
Masahiro Tanaka pitched his entire career in New York with this elbow condition, and was excellent the entire time, then went back to Japan and resumed his stellar career there. This issue of Triston’s isn’t going to be fixed with surgery, and since getting back command is the most difficult thing to recover AFTER elbow surgery, it could potentially aggravate his control issues, who knows?
Guess I shouldn’t hold my breath on Clemmy, then (not that I was).
CC was our last success in this regard? Prior to that, Swindell?
— He’s not a bust dude —
My issues are he’s 6y on from being drafted and hasn’t come close to all the hype he got back in the spring/summer of ’15. i remember that time and also though he just may be a good 1, but he hasn’t spent the last 6 full seasons with ucl issues.
There’s some folks on Guards Twitter that have pointed out – it’s his lower half. You can see a bit of it if you watch side by side video of now vs 2022. His plant foot kind of slides instead of him really driving off of it. It’s more complex than that one part but the bottom line is his mechanics are inconsistent which cause his accuracy to be.
Well he’s not so he’s not…
Tanaka has been horrible in Japan after leaving the Yankees
It’s true that Tanaka pitched and pitched well with a ucl tear but after he was injured he sat out half a season and his stuff diminished. He learned to pitch with it but he lost 2-3mph on his 4 seamer but he still had that elite split and a pretty good slider. Tanaka and Seth Lugo are really the only 2 outliers that I can remember that pitched and pitched well with a tear. He(McKenzie)needs to go have the injury fixed and then see what you have. Imo.
I did this study on high school pitchers as first round picks a few years back, but can’t find it.
Although it may not be accurate to a T, this is a quick summation…
Cleveland has chosen 17 HS pitchers in the first round since 1965.
Out of those 17, one did not sign.
Out of the 16 left, eight made it to MLB.
Out of those eight, five busted, never leaving much of a mark.
The three remaining…
CC Sabathia, a HOFer.
Jaret Wright, who gave Cleveland 4.7 fWAR in 96 starts, before his control ran out. He totaled 11.4 in his career.
Mckenzie, who has 4.3 fWAR andnmade 80 starts for Cleveland, with one year of control left.
You be the GM, and decide how many of those 17 first round high school pitchers were successes for my organization.
Boyd won’t ready until middle of August. Has to be built back up.
had to be done
This is what needed to happen. We got too many lags in our rotation in McKenzie, Carrasco, and to a lesser extent Allen. Matt Boyd is not going fix it all or may not fix any of it. He could possibly replace Carrasco and that be a bonus. We have to still go out and find a pitcher. My list right now is
1. Jesus Luzardo-Yes, he has been bad this year and now is injured but he a change of scenery guy without a doubt. Good stuff and he still got 2 years of control left. Can he be healthy by the deadline?
2. Reynaldo Lopez. This is a pipe dream. Great turnaround turning into a starter, but braves are not dealing him due to team injuries but what he has done as a starter is impressive
3. Yusei Kikuchi I know it’s not sexy but he still throws high 90s and would be an improvement. I love to see a package of him and Vlad and ship Josh Naylor out (we can’t take a chance at a long-term contract with Naylor him due to injuries. Downside is Vlad is a rental and we can’t afford to extend him. Kikuchi is also a rental so what is the price?
4. Couple others. Erik Fedde but not sure they will trade him in division. Crochet?? That is not going happen at all. If not, we might be stuck getting a relief arm and try to shorten the game if we make a playoff run. Another outside guy is Graham Ashcraft. Yes, he has struggled mightily this year but again had some success and be a definite change of scenery guy.
1. Hell no. He had elbow problems st the end of April and is hurt now.
2. Why even bring up a pipe dream then? Braves best starter all year.
3. Guerrero?!? Naylor is available to CLE through next year, why do we insist on being interested in “name” players who aren’t even as good as what we have? I’d love to have Kikuchi, doubt we’d have the stomach for the bidding war it would take to get him.
4. Crochet can’t possibly be in anyone’s October plans, much less August or September. And Fedde will extract a “Central Division” surcharge and we won’t pay it, nor should we.
And why are you so down on one of our fully healthy and performing starters? Did you not see Carrasco’s outing in Baltimore, for crying out loud? He’s experienced, confident, and rounding into form. Logan Allen is none of those things. Crossing my fingers he can navigate five today.
First. Quit acting like you are smart when it comes to baseball. Nothing I said was incorrect at all, so stop embarrassing yourself; the reason I don’t reply much because this is not a space of knowledgeable baseball people.
I care about upside. Luzardo has more than just about anyone we have. I said the injury risk and you need to learn to read. Also. There is no reason we should be giving Josh Naylor any kind of extension because he is injured when it matters most, and it seems cool he plays through it but it really is a selfish thing. Also, have you been watching Vlad or ever watched him? He has not lived up to the crazy potential but is still a good player, so don’t hold a straight face and say you wouldn’t want Vlad over Naylor; he is just better…flat out.
Also, Crochet has been good, so again. watch baseball. Maybe you have never learned of people finding it and becoming really good. I assume you not watched Crochet this year.? Start with his June 13 start.
last but not least, don’t say Carrasco is rounding into anything, Dude is nearly 38 and is only on this team because of nostalgia. He will not be in any playoff rotation, and he won’t even probably be on this team after the deadline. You act like he been really good. smh. Dude has been better this year because he sucked the last few, so not really a high bar there. People need to give up the nostalgia stuff. This is why we are not farther along even now. We kept Francona past when his time was up. We get a new manager and look. This is not re-live the past era. This is not the Indians anymore. This is the Guardians. Try to remember that and never reply to me again. I feel less a baseball fan from this interaction.
That you actually believe Josh Naylor is a “selfish” player, that Garrett Crochet is a mainstay who can be depended on down the stretch, and that Carrasco is hanging around because of “nostalgia” is all anyone needs to know about your self-described baseball acumen.
Anyone who won’t tell the staff about an injury and makes it worse and it cause him to miss pivotal time is selfish. Crochet would be our best starter right now, so again. Watch baseball and stop watching Espn highlights or the condensed game version. Maybe you can save up some money to get mlbtv on discount later in the season? You one of those old geezers who can’t let go of the past, probably calling them the Indians still and think Carrasco is a viable playoff pitcher option? hahhaha.. you a trip.
Sixth City, Crochet is going to have an innings limit. He has never pitched more than 54 innings in any season in the majors and he is already at 101 innings this year. That is why Avory stated that you could not count on him late in the year. Yes, Crochet has had an excellent season to date.
Common knowledge that many MLB GM’s hang out on this site
Avory, your Guardians are a first round knockout unless your team has a big deadline. One would think that 75 years of evidence would actually help Cleveland baseball fans understand what it will take to win.
Why are Cleveland fans so reluctant to have guts? Seriously, you all did the same thing when guys like Nolan Jones were up for trade (blew that one) in 2018-19. We can continue with Wilin Castro, Bobby Bradley – no guts and no glory.
Sixth City has some sense; go for it or just sell at the deadline. Your Guardians aren’t strong enough with the current team no matter how well they just played against a more superior Orioles team.
Total nonsense being spouted here by folks who don’t even understand how CLE even reached this point. Hint: it’s not by “having guts” (fanspeak for “being stupid.”)
It’s hilarious how fans continue to insist that winning is simply a matter of “will”…if it were, you don’t think the Dodgers would have a real championship in the last 30 years? The Yankees in the past 20? That the Mets or Padres or Mariners or Blue Jays wouldn’t be more competitive with all the money they’ve spent?
The playoffs are a complete crapshoot. This hand-wringing by fans over October is ludicrous. The only thing that matters is getting to the postseason in the best shape you can then letting the chips fall where they may. You’d think fans would understand that by now. But no, they fret about it as if baseball could be controlled somehow just through their angst.
So, teams make trades just to look pretty or just look good? The idea of making a trade at the deadline trade is to get better and put yourself in a position to win a world series and anything less than that is not acceptable. This is why we haven’t won one. It has to hurt to get talent back. We don’t make a trade and we can’t beat the dodgers or the orioles. It’s as simple as that. I guess you’re okay with pro-quo..lol
Logan Allen needs to be replaced before anyone else now that McKenzie is down. No way anyone would trade 2 years of Naylor for 1/2 a season of vlad and keep a job in Cleveland. I do agree kikuchi or fedde would be exceptable targets. But luzardo is hurt again, and should not be considered an option for that price tag, and while I would love crochet for the future, he has already throw more innings this year than his his entire career combined. You can’t count on him down the stretch. Hopefully McKenzie figures it out and comes back soon. Or maybe cantillo or Dion become options.
Would i risk trading Naylor to win a world series? Yes i would. I didn’t say straight up but I’m not paying him for someone who doesn’t know self-control and hurt when we need it most and won’t say when he is injured. The fact is we are not signing him to an extension as it is getting closer to his FA and he is not worth some big contract. I will take the rentals in a chance to win it all because we got 1b candidates that can replace Josh,. Any sure things. No but we have options. Manzardo? Rodriguez and even Valera if he can stay healthy. I mean the best outcome would be Boyd works out and, Allen figures it out and cookie is gone and we add a pitcher at the deadline. We can’t win a ws with this team unless we add.
So you think this team needs to add to win a World Series but you’re okay with playing Rodriguez or Valera every day?
You obviously got your feelings hurt because everyone pointed out different views. I’m not gonna argue with you, you can see by how many people have pointed logic that you want to ignore that what you said is not a solid idea. Everyone is entitled to an opinion…good luck
Well. I’m okay with the unknown. I know what Josh is and I know he is not going be here long-term, So yes I’m okay trading him for a short-term fix to win a world series. Ask the cubs would they take back their world series. You don’t get that chance often. We don’t know what Valera is going be. He been injured, so much he might be a bust but i do know we got long-term alternatives to 1b if we trade Josh and getting Vlad and Kikuchi puts up closer to winning it all.
No one gets their feelings hurt with anyone here as I never had one intelligent conversation with anyone on here on a Guards post. Guards fans are a trip here.. 75% can’t let of the Indians, 20% only watch a game a week, and think they know baseball and the remaining 5% who actually know baseball don’t show up here. Yes, you are. you are entitled to have an opinion that leads us to the same place we are at during the world series…home No one said anything substantial that displays no logic in mine. It’s signifies a fear to change and do pro-quo. I guess it how you approach life..take no chances right?. Good luck with your opinion.
” I never had one intelligent conversation with anyone on here on a Guards post..”
Well, that should tell you something, although I’m pretty sure it’s not what you think…
Carrasco is their third best starter right now, depending on how Gavin looks coming back. That’s not exactly a good thing but the next guy to go would be Logan Allen, not Cookie.
Luzardo is a big no for me because you’d be paying for the upside and team control when in reality you don’t actually know what you’re getting out of him and he’s had a ton of injury problems anyway. López isn’t going anywhere. Kikuchi would be a good fit even if he’s not the first choice. I’d love to get Fedde.
Vladdy and Naylor have the same amount of team control (both free agents after next year), and Naylor means too much to move on from during the season, especially for a player who isn’t much better (if he is at all). Crochet is a no from me because he’s already blown past his career high in innings and you’d be giving up a ton for a guy who you’d either have to shut down or be extremely cautious with down the stretch. I doubt the Reds move Ashcraft, and the Guardians are in a position now where they need certainty and not rolling the dice on someone anyway.
As a rental I mean, we have no way to resign him to a long-term deal. I disagree Vlad is not better. He can carry a team and Naylor is not that guy no matter if you want to pretend he is. I think the sheer potential of him makes him better and he can carry a team for a month or even in a deep playoff run. I mean most people I think would take Vlad.. Carrasco.. 3rd best starter? I don’t think so. He is just not a good pitcher. He was so bad the last few year and it looks like he is kinda okay cause he been trash the last few. There is no way you can into the playoffs with him in your rotation. Carrasco should not even made this team but we people who think it’s a cool story. That story doesn’t do anything for me.
Vlad is probably better than Naylor but if he is, it’s pretty close. Naylor has also carried this lineup in the past, so I don’t know what you mean. In another comment you even admitted that he hasn’t played to expectations, so I’m not sure that I get the appeal of adding him. Either way, shuffling first basemen like that isn’t worth the intangible effects it could have on the locker room and chemistry. Naylor isn’t the problem here so you’re trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist and I see nothing but downside with it.
And I’m not sure if you interpreted my comment correctly or just came up with a reply in your head before reading it all, but I never said that Carrasco is good. I just said he’s their third best starter right now. That says more about the lack of talent in their rotation than it does about him specifically. He’s pitched better recently, but I think you’re mistaken if you think I’m confident in him in a playoff rotation. He’s just been better than Allen and McKenzie.
I would say close. Naylor is underrated. Better? No. He has had rounds of being very good. Problem is he plays hurt, makes it worse and when we need him, he is out. There is also the question of a contract for him? What is he worth? He is honestly can’t be your top 3 guys on a world series team in a lineup. He is not that guy. Is Vlad inconsistent? Yes but when he is on, he can be the 1 or 2 in your lineup and in a world series, help you win one. Naylor is not a detriment to a team but if you got Vlad, you have no room for him, and a trade will have to hurt and Naylor back to Canada seems like a good story. Naylor happens to be a tradeable piece worth something. This is all chat at the ends of the day as this is not going to happen but I would better with Vlad there than Naylor.
No, you didn’t but don’t you think that is a serious issue if he one a starter on your team at all?? He not really any good. Yes, one good game but if you look inside all those starts, he has been in trouble almost all of them. That is a very bad sign going forward.
Add tyler Anderson and Luis silerino to list to go after.
Bringing up Reynaldo Lopez is pointless and it grounds to get laughed at. A world series team is not going to trade their best pitcher. These ideas aren’t that bad, but again trading away Naylor for Guerrero in a package is confusing at best. Why would Toronto want him if they can’t sign Vlad long term who is better and loves the city? And they’d be rebuilding so why get a guy near the end of his deal?? And the Guardians would get marginally better and throw off the chemistry of the team. It’s like a trade for the sake of it.
Swing a deal for Tyler Anderson and Taylor Ward together.
@Gator- That is probably the best/most realistic potential trade acquisition(s) I’ve read so far. I think the Angels have several player’s on their roster who could really make a difference for teams down the stretch and that probably won’t cost a ton to acquire either. As a NYY fan, I wish Cashman would call them and see what it would cost to acquire Luis Rengifo. I think he’s one of the most underrated player’s in MLB. He’s a .300 Switch hitter with decent pop, great speed, and plays above average defense at multiple positions. With guy’s like Rengifo, Anderson, Ward, Estevez, Matt Moore, Pillar, Drury, and some other’s, the Angels have the potential to add some decent young/controllable talent for the future.
What went wrong w mckenzie
Looked like a cy young winner 2 yrs ago
He sprained his UCL last year and spent a lot of time rehabbing it. I suspect working around a healing UCL messed with his mechanics. Now he’ll have a chance to straighten things out and regain some confidence.
Gives up a million walks & a million HRs
Reminds me of alek manoah’s downfall
Hope tmck figures things out
Who knew that Triston was just like his pop pop spuds. A dog.