The 2025 campaign has been rough for Cleveland Guardians righty Triston McKenzie, but then again, so were 2023 and 2024.
Since 2023, an elbow injury and his own inconsistency have prevented him from showing his 2022 form, when he posted a 2.96 ERA in 191.1 innings.
He opened the 2025 campaign as a reliever for the Guardians, but an 11.12 ERA in 5.2 innings forced the team to designate him for assignment.
By late April, he accepted a minor league assignment.
He ended up in the Arizona Complex League (ACL), working on his mechanics and basically starting all over.
After a rough first game in the rookie-level circuit, McKenzie finally showed some progress on Thursday.
“Very positive second outing for Cleveland Guardians RHP Triston McKenzie tonight out in Arizona. Line – 3.0(IP), 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 4SO,” Guardians Prospective posted on X.
Very positive second outing for Cleveland #Guardians RHP Triston McKenzie tonight out in Arizona.
Line – 3.0(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 1BB 4SO#GuardsBall https://t.co/XCOKAEpIvU
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) June 6, 2025
McKenzie has had a partial UCL tear in his right elbow since 2023.
A partial UCL tear can result in three things: pain, loss of velocity, and loss of command.
The Guardians hurler has had no pain this year and his velocity actually spiked up a bit in comparison to last season.
The biggest problem, however, is that his command seems to have completely abandoned him.
He has had issues repeating his mechanics and throwing strikes consistently, both with his fastball and his breaking stuff.
Until he gets his control and command straightened out, he won’t be an option for the Guardians.
Thursday, however, represented a step in the right direction.
He needs many more of those, and not just against rookie-level competition.
Ultimately, having surgery seems like the best option at this point.
NEXT: Veteran Guardians Slugger Ties Longest Hitting Streak Of His Career
