Just when he was getting ready to return to the Cleveland Guardians rotation, starting pitcher Gavin Williams suffered a setback in his recovery.
He felt renewed soreness in his ailing elbow after a start in Arizona on Saturday.
Now, the organization has shut him down for a few days.
What are the next steps?
What exactly happened to him?
When will the Guardians have him back?
Guardians Prospective, a specialized Twitter account that covers all things Guardians, talked to a source and explained the situation.
“Deeper dive into #Guardians RHP Gavin Williams sore elbow from source. William’s hadn’t felt any pain in his rehab up until his start this past Saturday out in Arizona. The UCL looked good on his MRI no tears. The team is not sure what is causing the inflammation in his elbow, thought is it could be from a slight change in his delivery,” they tweeted.
If everything goes right, Williams won’t have to start his throwing program from scratch, though, which represents great news.
“Plan and hope for now is injection for inflammation and hopefully resume throwing where he left off and not to start completely over in his build up,” they also wrote.
Deeper dive into #Guardians RHP Gavin Williams sore elbow from source.
William's hadn't felt any pain in his rehab up until his start this past Saturday out in Arizona. The UCL looked good on his MRI no tears. The team is not sure what is causing the inflammation in his elbow,…
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) April 24, 2024
Right now, especially with Shane Bieber out for the year and Triston McKenzie’s elbow being an issue itself, the Guardians really need every talented pitcher to be as healthy as possible.
Williams, who posted a 3.29 ERA in 82 innings last year, can be a difference-maker in the rotation.
This development pushes him further away from making his 2024 debut.
However, it might not be as disastrous as initially thought.
As long as there is hope, the team should hold on to it.
NEXT: Analyst Notes Just How Surprising The Guardians Have Been
