Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Guardians Rumors

Ben Lively To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By and | at

Guardians right-hander Ben Lively will undergo Tommy John surgery and a flexor tendon repair, the team announced. The righty is expected to miss 12 to 16 months. That means he’ll miss the remainder of the 2025 season and maybe all of ’26 as well. He’s already on the 15-day injured list and will be moved to the 60-day IL whenever Cleveland needs his 40-man roster spot.

“Earlier this week, RHP Ben Lively sought a second opinion on his injured right elbow with Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, TX,” the club’s statement reads. “Dr. Meister confirmed the presence of a flexor tendon injury while also noting medial elbow joint laxity due to an insufficient ulnar collateral ligament. Both team physicians and Dr. Meister believe the joint laxity is placing added stress on the flexor muscles and have recommended UCL reconstruction along with flexor tendon repair. No surgical date has been set but is expected in the coming days with Dr. Meister. Return to play timeframes in similar cases are 12-16 months.”

Lively was unexpectedly tabbed as Cleveland’s Opening Day starter this season after an illness ruled Tanner Bibee out for that assignment. The 33-year-old didn’t have a great outing, surrendering three runs over five innings in Kansas City. However, he has arguably been Cleveland’s best starting pitcher through the season’s first month and a half. After posting a 3.81 ERA in 151 innings a year ago, he worked to a 3.22 mark across nine starts this year. He’s up to nearly 200 innings with a 3.68 ERA in a Cleveland uniform since signing for a modest $750K as a free agent during the 2023-24 offseason.

It has been the most successful stretch of Lively’s big league tenure. He’d spent parts of two seasons apiece as a depth starter with the Phillies and Royals early in his career. He then pitched in Korea for three seasons before returning stateside with the Reds in 2022. Lively allowed 5.38 earned runs per nine with Cincinnati and was waived at the end of that year. Cleveland saw enough to give him a major league contract, and they were rewarded with generally solid results until he left the mound with forearm pain during a start against the Brewers last week.

There’s a decent chance this will end his Guardians tenure. Lively is playing this season on a $2.25MM contract after qualifying for arbitration for the first time. He’d be due a slight raise next year if tendered a contract. The Guardians will need to decide whether to offer him something in the $3MM range to spend most or all of next season rehabbing, then pay a similar salary for a hopefully healthy ’27 campaign. He’d be nearing his 35th birthday at that point. Lively doesn’t throw hard or miss many bats, so the team may feel they can more cheaply replace his production and non-tender him.

In the short term, it’s a hit to an already questionable starting staff. Cleveland starters rank 19th in both ERA and strikeout rate. They’re 23rd in innings pitched. Lively led the group in ERA. Slade Cecconi, who was acquired from the Diamondbacks for Josh Naylor over the winter, was activated from his own IL stint on Saturday to take Lively’s rotation spot. He worked five innings of three-run ball in his team debut. He slots behind Bibee, Gavin Williams, Luis Ortiz and Logan Allen for the time being. Shane Bieber and John Means are potential second-half reinforcements as they work back from their own UCL procedures.

Guardians Prospect Travis Bazzana Diagnosed With Oblique Strain

By | at

The Guardians announced this afternoon that last year’s first overall pick Travis Bazzana has been diagnosed with a right internal oblique strain. The top second base prospect hasn’t played since suffering the injury last Wednesday. The team noted that such injuries usually sideline a player for eight to ten weeks, so Bazzana will be out into the second half of the season.

That obviously hurts his chances of reaching the big leagues before the end of the year. Top college draftees fairly regularly reach the majors by the end of their first full professional season. A pair of first-rounders from last year’s class, Cam Smith and Nick Kurtz, have already debuted. Sixth overall pick Jac Caglianone, a first baseman/outfielder in the Kansas City system, might not be far off after receiving a promotion to Triple-A today.

Bazzana, an Oregon State product, has spent the entire season at Double-A Akron. The lefty-hitting infielder carries a .252/.362/.433 line with four homers across 149 plate appearances. That’s well above-average in the extremely pitcher-friendly league. (The average Eastern League hitter owns a .229/.317/.366 slash line.) Bazzana is striking out at a somewhat worrying 26.2% clip, but he’d begun to find his stride at the plate. He was hitting .279/.392/.512 this month after posting a .238/.347/.393 mark in April.

Daniel Schneemann has stepped up as Stephen Vogt’s primary second baseman. The second-year utilityman already has six homers with a .265/.339/.500 slash across 110 plate appearances. Schneemann had played a multi-positional role off the bench early in the year. Gabriel Arias was starting at second base to begin the season, but he kicked over to shortstop when the Guards optioned the scuffling Brayan Rocchio last week.

Guardians Activate Slade Cecconi

By | at

TODAY: The Guardians have officially announced Cecconi’s activation. Right-hander Zak Kent was optioned to Columbus in the corresponding move.

MAY 16: The Guardians will activate Slade Cecconi from the 15-day injured list to start tomorrow against Cincinnati, relays Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. It will be the right-hander’s team debut. He was acquired from the Diamondbacks in the offseason Josh Naylor trade.

Cecconi, 25, probably would have opened the season in Stephen Vogt’s rotation had he been healthy. He strained his left oblique during Spring Training. He has made a trio of rehab starts with Triple-A Columbus over the past couple weeks. Cecconi has allowed seven runs over 13 innings. He got through 5 2/3 frames and tallied 68 pitches over the weekend.

A Miami product, Cecconi was a supplemental first-round pick in 2020. His prospect stock has dimmed since then, though the Guardians still liked him enough to send their longtime first baseman to Arizona. Cecconi tossed 104 innings for the Snakes between 2023-24, allowing just over six earned runs per nine. His 18.7% strikeout rate is below-average, but he has shown excellent control. He owns a 4.73 ERA over parts of five minor league seasons.

Cleveland lost Ben Lively to the injured list with a flexor strain earlier this week. Cecconi will slot behind Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Luis Ortiz and Logan Allen to round out the rotation for the time being.

Guardians Hire Corey Kluber As Special Assistant

By | at

Corey Kluber is back in Cleveland. The Guardians announced that they’ve hired the two-time Cy Young winner as a Special Assistant of Pitching. Zack Meisel of The Athletic first reported the news this morning.

Kluber spent nine of his 13 MLB seasons in Cleveland. Acquired from San Diego as an unheralded minor league pitcher as part of a three-team deal involving Jake Westbrook and Ryan Ludwick, Kluber reached the majors in 2011. He didn’t establish himself until 2013 but broke out as arguably the game’s best pitcher one season later. He won his first Cy Young while leading the AL with 18 wins and firing 235 2/3 innings of 2.44 ERA ball.

That was the first of five straight seasons in which Kluber finished top 10 in Cy Young balloting. He placed among the AL’s top three on four occasions during that stretch. He won his second Cy Young while winning the ERA title in 2017. Kluber finished his nine-year tenure in Cleveland with a 3.16 earned run average and 98 wins during the regular season. He made another nine postseason starts, headlined by a 1.83 ERA across six outings during Cleveland’s pennant run in 2016.

Kluber ranks third on the organization’s all-time leaderboard with 1461 strikeouts. He’s second behind Shane Bieber in strikeout to walk rate and behind only Hall of Famer Addie Joss in WHIP. He’s eighth among pitchers in franchise history in Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement. The Guardians continue to benefit from that run, as they acquired Emmanuel Clase from the Rangers in the 2019 trade that ended Kluber’s tenure in Cleveland. Injuries wrecked his lone season in Texas, but he rebounded with decent seasons for the Yankees and Rays before struggling with the Red Sox in his final year.

Guardians Place Ben Lively On Injured List With Flexor Strain

By | at

The Guardians placed Ben Lively on the 15-day injured list before the start of tonight’s game against Milwaukee. Lively was diagnosed with a flexor tendon strain in his forearm (relayed by Tim Stebbins of MLB.com). Righty Zak Kent was recalled to take his active roster spot.

Lively started Monday’s series opener against the Brew Crew. He made it through three scoreless innings but exited during his warm-up throws before the start of the fourth. Cleveland initially announced that he was dealing with forearm inflammation, and it seems subsequent evaluation revealed the flexor strain. That makes it highly unlikely that he’ll be back when first eligible a couple weeks from now.

The 33-year-old Lively is in his second season with the Guardians. He signed for barely north of the league minimum going into 2024. It has proven a very shrewd pickup. Lively turned in a 3.81 ERA across 29 starts a year ago. He was unexpectedly tabbed as the Opening Day starter this season after an illness ruled Tanner Bibee out for that assignment. Lively didn’t have a great outing, surrendering three runs over five innings in Kansas City. However, he has been Cleveland’s best starting pitcher through the season’s first month and a half.

Lively owns a 3.22 ERA across 44 2/3 innings. He and Bibee are the only Cleveland starters allowing fewer than four earned runs per nine. He’s succeeding despite a pedestrian 16.3% strikeout rate. He doesn’t throw hard or miss many bats, but he has tossed nearly 200 innings with a combined 3.68 ERA since landing in Cleveland.

The Guardians are off on Thursday, so they can get by without a fifth starter into the early part of next week. Slade Cecconi, who has been out all season with an oblique strain, got up to 68 pitches in a rehab start with Triple-A Columbus on Sunday. He could step into Lively’s rotation spot if the Guards don’t want to recall Doug Nikhazy, who surrendered six runs in three innings in a spot start during his big league debut earlier this year.

Guardians Option Brayan Rocchio

By | at

The Guardians announced that outfielder Will Brennan has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus. Infielder Brayan Rocchio has been sent the other way, optioned to Columbus as the corresponding move.

Rocchio, 24, heads to the minors for the first time since the 2023 season. He spent the entire 2024 campaign in the big leagues as Cleveland’s primary shortstop. He appeared in 143 games and stepped to the plate 442 times. His offense wasn’t great, as he hit just .206/.298/.316 for a 79 wRC+, indicating he was 21% below league average on the whole. He did steal 10 bases, but was also caught six times. His glovework was well regarded, as he racked up 11 Defensive Runs Saved and six Outs Above Average.

Put all together, FanGraphs considered him to be worth 1.1 wins above replacement on the season, with Baseball Reference a bit more generous at 1.9. That’s obviously not outstanding production but fine value for a guy making modest pay since he’s in his pre-arbitration years.

It was enough for him to open the 2025 season back in that role, but his performance has tanked and he has gradually ceded playing time to others. Through 102 plate appearances this year, Rocchio is hitting .165/.235/.198. His .208 batting average on balls in play is quite low but he’s also not hitting the ball with much authority. His average exit velocity, hard hit rate and barrel rate are no higher than the 11th percentile of qualified hitters, per Statcast. His 4.9% walk rate is less than half of last year’s 10% clip. The defensive metrics have also soured on him, with OAA having him at league par and DRS at -3.

In recent days and weeks, Gabriel Arias has been taking more of the shortstop time. He has a .264/.319/.416 line and 110 wRC+ on the year, with solid defense to boot. Presumably, he will take over as the regular shortstop now that Rocchio has been optioned. Arias and Daniel Schneemann had previously been sharing second base, so perhaps Schneeman will get more playing time at the keystone as he’s hitting .273/.356/.532 for a 154 wRC+ this year. Ángel Martínez and Will Wilson are on hand to step in to the middle infield, if needed, though Martínez is currently the club’s regular center fielder.

For Rocchio, instead of sitting on the big league bench, he can get some regular playing time with Columbus as he tries to get out of his recent funk. Getting his offense back to a more acceptable level could put him in position to return to the majors when an opportunity arises. He is still young and it’s certainly possible that there are better days ahead for him.

How long he spends on this optional assignment could impact his financial position in the future. He came into 2025 with one year and 37 days of service time. That put him on track to qualify for arbitration after 2026 and free agency after 2029, though those timelines will no longer be possible if he ends up spending several months down on the farm. He also has just one option season left, so he’ll be out of options next year if he spends at least 20 days in the minors this season.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Guardians Outright Vince Velasquez

By | at

The Guardians outrighted Vince Velasquez back to Triple-A Columbus, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Cleveland had designated the right-hander for assignment when they acquired Matt Festa last week.

Velasquez signed a minor league contract in February. He was rehabbing from an elbow surgery that had cost him the second half of 2023 and the complete ’24 season. He’s started four games with Columbus, allowing 11 runs (10 earned) on 16 walks in 15 innings. Despite the mediocre numbers, Cleveland called him up to serve as a long relief option at a busy part of the schedule. Velasquez didn’t make it into a game during his three days on the big league roster, but he secured a prorated $1.5MM salary by reaching the majors.

As a player with over five years of major league service, Velasquez has the right to decline an outright assignment in favor of free agency. It’s unclear if he’ll test the market, though he’d be limited to minor league offers if he did. He may decide to simply head back to Columbus and hope that an improved performance can earn him a less fleeting look later in the year.

Cleveland has one of the weaker rotations in MLB. Their starters entered play Monday with a 4.59 earned run average that ranks 27th in the majors. Only the Orioles, Rockies and Marlins have gotten worse run prevention from the rotation. Cleveland’s 20.1% strikeout rate and 11% walk percentage are each in the bottom third. Gavin Williams and Luis Ortiz have missed bats at above-average rates, but they’ve each struggled to throw strikes. Ben Lively, Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee have reasonable earned run averages with mediocre strikeout rates. It has been an especially underwhelming start from Bibee, who was easily the team’s best starter a year ago.

The Guardians are hopeful that Shane Bieber and John Means can contribute later in the season as they rehab UCL surgeries. Slade Cecconi has been out all season with an oblique strain, though he began a rehab assignment last week. Doug Nikhazy is the top healthy depth starter on the 40-man roster. Kolby Allard and Joey Cantillo are working out of the big league bullpen but could theoretically stretch out as rotation options as well.

Guardians Designate Vince Velasquez For Assignment

By | at

The Guardians announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Matt Festa from Triple-A Columbus. Fellow righty Vince Velasquez has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

It was reported earlier this week that the Guardians had acquired Festa from the Rangers. He had signed a minor league deal with Texas but recently had the ability to opt out of that deal if not in the major leagues. Based on the trade, it seemed like the Guards were willing to give him the roster spot that the Rangers would not, and that has come to pass today.

He certainly did his best to earn the opportunity. He tossed 14 2/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Round Rock to start this year. His 11.3% walk rate was a bit high but he punched out 32.2% of batters faced and kept 47.1% of balls in play on the ground. His big league track record is more middling, with a 4.60 ERA, 25% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 34.9% ground ball rate in 117 1/3 innings, but the Guards will see if his hot start this year can be carried over.

That will unfortunately lead to Velasquez losing his roster spot without pitching in a game. His last major league appearance was almost two years ago now, occurring with the Pirates on May 27th of 2023. UCL surgery wiped out the rest of that season and his entire 2024.

He signed a minor league deal with the Guards coming into 2025 and started this year in Triple-A. He tossed 15 innings over four starts with an ERA of 6.00, a 14.7% strikeout rate and 21.3% walk rate. Those are awful numbers in a small sample but the club wanted a fresh arm earlier this week. Last Friday’s game was rained out, which led to a Saturday doubleheader, meaning Cleveland was to play 13 games in 12 days. They added Kolby Allard on Saturday and Velasquez on Tuesday, two arms capable of pitching multiple innings, but didn’t use Velasquez in any of the past three games.

Velasquez will likely be placed on waivers shortly. Based on his rough early-season numbers and recent injury absence, he will likely clear. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency instead.

If he ends up on the open market, he could perhaps re-sign with the Guardians or look for opportunities elsewhere. He has 763 2/3 career innings in the big leagues with a 4.88 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Guardians Acquire Matt Festa From Rangers

By | at

1:57pm: Festa indeed had an opt-out opportunity in his minor league deal tomorrow, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. It seems likely the Guardians will bring him to the big leagues soon, though the team has not yet announced as much.

9:35am: The Guardians announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired right-hander Matt Festa from the Rangers in exchange for cash. Festa isn’t on the 40-man roster at the moment, although given the timing of the move, it’s fair to wonder whether this trade was prompted by an opt-out or upward mobility clause in his minor league deal with Texas. If that’s the case, he’ll likely be selected to the major league roster in the next day or two.

Festa, 32, has pitched in parts of five big league seasons between the Mariners, Mets and Rangers. He carries a career 4.60 ERA in 117 1/3 MLB frames, during which he’s punched out one-quarter of his opponents and issued walks at a 10.3% clip. Festa has shown promise at times, most notably with the 2022 Mariners, but he’s yet to find consistency in the majors. Injuries have played a notable role, particularly a 2020 Tommy John procedure that wiped out his entire season and sidelined him for most of the 2021 campaign as well.

Entering the 2024-25 offseason, Festa was on the Rangers’ 40-man roster. He lost his spot when Texas signed Chris Martin. The Cubs picked him up in exchange for cash following that DFA. Chicago ultimately designated Festa for assignment as well, after which he cleared waivers, elected free agency and returned to the Rangers on a minor league deal.

Festa is now Cleveland-bound and will head to the Guards on the heels of a dominant showing in Triple-A. The right-hander has rattled off 14 2/3 shutout innings, striking out 32.3% of his opponents against an 11.3% walk rate. Festa has kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 47.1% clip and done a terrific job avoiding hard contact (85.9 mph average exit velocity, 23.5% hard-hit rate). He hasn’t made any big changes to his arsenal or seen a noticeable change in velocity, but the results are impressive nonetheless.

Cleveland’s bullpen has been solid but not up to its usual level of excellence. Guardians relievers have combined for a 3.72 ERA, and that includes three rough innings from position players Austin Hedges and Will Wilson in mop-up work. However, former All-Stars Emmanuel Clase and Paul Sewald have both struggled, with each sporting an earned run average north of 6.00.

Quality contributions from Cade Smith, Joey Cantillo, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and Jakob Junis have helped to offset those troubles, and Festa could soon get a crack at chipping in himself. The Guardians currently have veterans Vince Velasquez and Kolby Allard in the bullpen, both of whom signed minor league deals. Neither can be optioned to Triple-A, but their presence speaks to the unsettled nature of Cleveland’s final couple bullpen spots.

Guardians Select Vince Velasquez

By | at

The Guardians made a series of roster moves today, as relayed by Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. Right-hander Vince Velasquez has been selected to the roster and left-hander Joey Cantillo has been recalled. To make room for those two on the active roster, righty Cody Bolton has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus and righty Paul Sewald lands on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder strain. To open a 40-man spot for Velasquez, righty Shane Bieber has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Sewald departed last night’s game with shoulder inflammation. It’s unclear how long the Guardians expect him to be out of action but this move means it will be at least a couple of weeks. The Guards signed the former closer this winter, a $7MM guarantee on a one-year deal. That was a bet on a bounceback after he posted a 4.31 earned run average in 2024.

The early results have been mixed, with his ERA up to 6.17 in the early going. He has already allowed three home runs in 11 2/3 innings. However, his 31.3% strikeout rate and 4.2% walk rate are both excellent figures. If it weren’t for a .357 batting average on balls in play and a 64.8% strand rate, fewer runs would have crossed the plate, which is why his 4.35 FIP and 2.94 SIERA look far nicer in the small sample. If Sewald is going to get back on track, it will have to wait.

Thanks to a rainout on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday, the Guards are now in a stretch where they play 13 games in 12 days. Yesterday, starter Gavin Williams only lasted two innings against the Twins. The bullpen then had to cover the remaining seven, though position player Will Wilson absorbed two of them. Still, they used four traditional relievers, including Sewald and Bolton, with the latter throwing 40 pitches over his two innings.

The need for fresh arms will get Velasquez back to the majors. He signed a minor league deal with the Guards in February and has been pitching for out of the rotation at Columbus. He had missed the 2024 season due to UCL surgery but had a 4.88 ERA in his career prior to that.

The results haven’t been pretty so far this year, with an ERA of 6.00 through 15 innings and four starts. He has allowed 16 walks and hit one batter while only striking out 11 opponents. Regardless of the quality, Velasquez is at least stretched out and could cover multiple innings if the Guards find themselves in another blowout. He tossed four innings on Thursday and should therefore be able to take on a decent chunk of work out of the bullpen.

If they want to remove him from the roster in the coming days or weeks, he would have to be removed from the 40-man entirely. As a veteran with far more than five years of major league service, he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent.

As for Bieber, he’s still working his way back from last April’s Tommy John surgery. His 60-day clock is retroactive to when he landed on the 15-day IL at the start of the season. That means he can be reinstated from the IL in late May. That doesn’t seem to be a possibility since he still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment. Even if he were to start such an assignment today, he would presumably need a month to six weeks to get ready, effectively a delayed Spring Training.

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top