McKenzie gets long-awaited callup by Tribe

After a long year-and-a-half battle with injuries, Triston McKenzie’s Major League debut is finally in sight. The Tribe’s No. 9 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, will get the start on Saturday against the Tigers at Progressive Field. The team had been able to get by with a four-man rotation for

After a long year-and-a-half battle with injuries, Triston McKenzie’s Major League debut is finally in sight.

The Tribe’s No. 9 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, will get the start on Saturday against the Tigers at Progressive Field. The team had been able to get by with a four-man rotation for the past 12 days due to a few off-days but needed a fifth starter for Saturday. Both Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac still need to finish their minimum of 10 days at the alternate training site in Lake County, Ohio, before they can be recalled.

After posting a 2.68 ERA in 16 starts at Double-A Akron two years ago, McKenzie has yet to take the mound in a game since August 2018. He entered the ’19 season as the Tribe’s No. 1 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, but the 6-foot-5 righty suffered an upper back strain at the end of Spring Training before he strained a pectoral muscle that sidelined him for the rest of the year.

“On a whole, it was more of a learning experience,” McKenzie said in February. “It was obviously frustrating as a competitor, you’re not out there able to compete. But it was definitely a learning experience, and I think this year, I’m better for it.”

The 23-year-old attended his first big league Spring Training earlier this year after the club added him to the 40-man roster in the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. The Indians wanted to be cautious in using him in game settings after his injury-plagued 2019, and he spent most of his time on the backfields during camp. Just as he was being sent to the Minor League side to make his first start in more than a year, the baseball season was suspended due to the coronavirus.

McKenzie was added to the Tribe’s 60-man player pool when Summer Camp began in July. However, the Tribe immediately split its camps into two groups, with the players competing for a spot on the Major League roster showing up to Progressive Field every day and the rest of the prospects, including McKenzie, reporting to Lake County.