The Cleveland Guardians rotation has struggled a bit beyond the reliable Shane Bieber.
Tanner Bibee, Carlos Carrasco, Logan Allen, and especially Triston McKenzie all have the potential to be much better than their first starts of the season.
Perhaps most importantly, one of them should be demoted to bullpen duties when Gavin Williams, who is dealing with elbow inflammation and hasn’t pitched since early March, is ready to return.
Essentially, many of those names could be pitching to keep their rotation spot.
What about Williams?
Well, according to the most recent health update by Guardians Prospective on Wednesday, his return is still not imminent.
He is healthy now, though, and that represents excellent news.
What’s next?
He will need to start his throwing program from scratch.
“Cleveland #Guardians RHP Gavin Williams is headed back to Arizona to build back up arm strength. He was given 100% ready to go after his bullpen in Seattle on Monday. There is no timetable how long it will take before he will be ready. Per manager Steven Vogt ‘Gavin needs to start over.’ He hasn’t pitched in a game since 3/05/24,” they tweeted.
Cleveland #Guardians RHP Gavin Williams is headed back to Arizona to build back up arm strength. He was given 100% ready to go after his bullpen in Seattle on Monday. There is no timetable how long it will take before he will be ready. Per manager Steven Vogt "Gavin needs to…
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) April 3, 2024
Williams hurt his elbow in a freak workout accident.
The organization was extremely cautious with him, but have now determined he is 100 percent health-wise.
The next thing would be getting his arm ready to pitch, and that process doesn’t happen overnight.
He needs to play catch/long toss, then gradually ramp up to throwing bullpens from a mound, live batting practice, and finally some rehab games.
It could still be a few weeks until he is ready.
That will give the organization plenty of time to evaluate the rest of the pitchers to make a decision when the time comes.
Williams, who posted a 3.29 ERA as a rookie last year, can’t be left out if healthy.
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