Lively goes on IL with right flexor tendon strain
CLEVELAND — The Guardians’ rotation was dealt tough news on Tuesday, when right-hander Ben Lively landed on the 15-day injured list with a right flexor tendon strain.
Lively abruptly exited his start on Monday vs. the Brewers while warming up for the top of the fourth inning. He threw a few pitches before Guardians head athletic trainer Jeff Desjardins, manager Stephen Vogt and pitching coach Carl Willis joined him on the mound. After a brief conversation, Lively exited the game.
Lively underwent imaging on Tuesday that revealed the strain. Right-handed reliever Zak Kent was recalled from Triple-A Columbus in a corresponding move.
Vogt noted postgame Monday that Lively dealt with the forearm issue “a little bit” last season, and in his previous start, last Tuesday in Game 2 of the Guardians’ doubleheader against the Nationals. Lively threw 63 pitches in 5 1/3 innings before Cleveland went to the bullpen.
“He felt a little bit after we took him out [in Washington], but he went through his normal progression [between starts],” Vogt said on Tuesday. “We knew that it had been going on, but it wasn’t a huge red flag or anything, and then it just came back on one pitch in the outing [Monday].”
In the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s news, Kent provides the Guardians’ bullpen with a reinforcement after it covered the final six innings of Monday’s win. But Cleveland will need to make a move in the coming days to fill Lively’s spot in the rotation.
Vogt said Tuesday afternoon the Guardians were working through their pitching plans for this weekend’s three-game series against the Reds. As recently as Monday, Tanner Bibee was listed as Friday’s probable starter, and Saturday and Sunday were TBD.
“We’re working through the pitching over the weekend,” Vogt said Tuesday. “This is fresh that this happened, and we need to kind of see how the next few days go. We’re really looking at what we’re going to do over the weekend in Cincinnati.”
The Guardians have several potential options to take Lively’s next turn in the rotation. Lefty Doug Nikhazy (Cleveland’s No. 21 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) made his MLB debut on April 26 against the Red Sox, though he struggled with command and allowed six runs on five hits and six walks in three innings.
Right-hander Slade Cecconi opened the season on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain and has made three rehab starts with Columbus, most recently on Sunday. He worked up to 5 2/3 innings and 68 pitches, his longest outing and highest pitch count through three starts.
Cecconi (who was acquired from the D-backs on Dec. 21 for Josh Naylor) allowed two runs on six hits and struck out three on Sunday. While his activation at this point may have otherwise been premature, the Lively news could potentially change the calculus.
“We wouldn’t be considering it just yet, if not for the uncertainty of Ben,” pitching coach Carl Willis said Tuesday.
Lefty Kolby Allard has been stellar as a length option out of the bullpen this season, but Vogt said “he’s definitely an option” to start.
“The role he’s in right now has been really valuable,” Vogt said. “We can get creative and do different things. We’re talking through all the options right now of what we’re going to do.”
Allard has a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings over five appearances this season. Three of those appearances have been at least three innings. On April 26 vs. Boston, Allard allowed one run on six hits in six innings of relief, a performance that picked up Nikhazy after his start and helped save the bullpen.
Allard threw a season-high 64 pitches in that outing, and on May 3 against the Blue Jays, he permitted one run on one hit in four innings while throwing 53 pitches. The Guardians trailed 3-0 when Allard entered, and after he kept them in the game, they rallied to win late following Daniel Schneemann’s ninth-inning grand slam.
“You saw it [against Boston] and then the game in Toronto,” Vogt said of Allard, “where he kept us in the game and provided length so that the other guys got the day off.”
Allard’s proven ability to cover multiple innings in relief at least makes a bullpen game, where he’s the bulk arm, conceivable. But the Guardians will continue to discuss their plans over the coming days.