Williams shut down after setback in elbow recovery

Allen and Bibee are still settling into their sophomore campaigns. McKenzie is trying to regain his 2022 form while bouncing back from the elbow troubles he had last year. Carrasco is striving to get deeper in his outings. Lively has done everything the Guardians could’ve asked in his first two starts since coming off the IL (viral illness in spring), but the team is still learning about him.

This isn’t the rotation the Guardians envisioned they’d have at this point in the season. They also don’t have many depth pieces aside from Curry to turn to if other options are needed. No. 10 prospect Joey Cantillo would be the first name to come to mind, but he’s been out with a hamstring strain. Aside from Curry, there are four pitchers currently with Columbus who have made at least two starts:

RHP Connor Gillispie: 23 innings, 17 runs, 15 earned runs (5.87 ERA), seven homers, one hit batter, 11 walks, 24 strikeoutsLHP Will Dion: 17 2/3 innings, 19 runs, 14 earned runs (7.13 ERA), three homers, 13 walks and 21 strikeoutsRHP Adam Oller: 15 innings, seven runs (all earned, 4.20 ERA), two homers, seven walks, 20 strikeoutsRHP Hunter Stanley: 11 2/3 innings, seven runs (all earned, 5.40 ERA), three homers, five walks, 14 strikeouts

The guys in Triple-A will need more developmental time before getting thrust into the Major League spotlight. The depth is getting thinner. The Guardians will have to hope that Williams is going to be down for just these seven days and can get back into the mix with no issues in the near future. If more flare ups occur, it’s going to only mean more pressure for the coaching staff to have to piece together the rotation. But the team isn’t looking that far ahead. For now, it’s focusing on the hot start it’s gotten off to.

“All we can control is today,” Vogt said. “We keep getting punched. Every team right now is getting punched. It’s not exclusive to us, but all we can control is the 26 guys who are here tonight, go out, compete and take care of what we can today and then we’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

“We feel for our boys. … It does take a hit, and that’s OK for you to feel a little down in the dumps when things like this happen, but again, all we can control is what we can do today, and that’s the message that [we’ll] continue to say.”