Lively seeking second opinion from Dr. Meister
CINCINNATI — Guardians starter Ben Lively will receive an additional opinion on his right flexor tendon strain, manager Stephen Vogt said on Saturday.
Lively exited his start on Monday vs. the Brewers due to the forearm issue. He underwent imaging that revealed the strain and landed on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday. The right-hander will visit Dr. Keith Meister, the renowned orthopedist, this coming Tuesday.
“It’s the same as what we knew a couple days ago — that he has the flexor strain,” Vogt said. “But we just want to go make sure that we check every box and get another opinion on what’s going on and make sure that we’re covering all our tracks to make sure we do what’s best for Ben and his career moving forward.”
When asked whether surgery is a possibility for Lively, Vogt said: “We just don’t know. We’ve got to go see Meister and see what he thinks about the read.”
Vogt noted after Monday’s outing that Lively dealt with the forearm issue “a little bit” last season. Lively felt it in his start on May 6 against the Nationals, when he threw 63 pitches in 5 1/3 innings.
Lively then went through his normal between-starts progression and threw three scoreless innings on Monday vs. Milwaukee before he exited after tossing a few warmup pitches in the top of the fourth inning.
Lively has been sturdy for the Guardians the past two seasons. He recorded a 3.81 ERA in 151 innings over 29 starts last year, the latter of which were career highs. He has a 3.22 ERA (best among Cleveland starters) in 44 2/3 innings over nine starts this season.
Right-hander Slade Cecconi was activated off the 15-day injured list on Saturday to take Lively’s turn in the rotation. Cecconi missed the start of the season due to a left oblique strain. Cleveland acquired him and a Competitive Balance Round B Draft pick from Arizona on Dec. 21 for first baseman Josh Naylor.
Updates on Fry, Bieber, Stephan, Thomas
While there are no definitive return timelines at this point, a number of injured Guardians players continued to make positive strides in their recoveries.
David Fry is set to join Double-A Akron next week on his rehab assignment. He will DH and continue his throwing program, Vogt said. Fry (who had right UCL revision surgery in November) began a rehab assignment in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Wednesday and played in three games.
The 29-year-old, who hit 14 homers last season and earned his first All-Star nod, will be limited to DH duty this season, as the rehab time to return to playing the field is expected to be a year.
Vogt noted that ace Shane Bieber threw a live batting practice session in Arizona on Friday that “went well,” and reliever Trevor Stephan was slated to throw a live BP on Saturday. Both continue to make steady progress in their rehab from elbow surgery.
Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2024. Stephan underwent right UCL reconstruction surgery in March 2024.
Outfielder Lane Thomas began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus this week and played for the Clippers on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His wrist has been feeling good, and he is set to play at least a couple more games with Columbus, Vogt said.
“The reports, as far as the physical side, have been really, really good,” Vogt said. “That’s really what we care about.”