The Cleveland Guardians caught a break on Tuesday, and it came from a reliever who has been through enough adversity to know exactly how to put injury news in perspective.
Erik Sabrowski underwent an MRI on Tuesday after being placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to May 22 with left elbow inflammation, and the results of that exam were about as good as the organization could have hoped for given the circumstances. Both Sabrowski and manager Stephen Vogt came away from the news feeling genuinely optimistic about what a return timeline could look like.
“I’ve got a long line of MRIs to refer back to, and they said this one looks no different than the other ones when I ended up being fine. So this little setback for the season,” Sabrowski said.
"I've got a long line of MRIs to refer back to, and they said this one looks no different than the other ones when I ended up being fine. So this little setback for the season."#Guardians Erik Sabrowski and Stephen Vogt are optimistic on the relievers future return after his… https://t.co/fE5b2VgSh0 pic.twitter.com/fz7g9FtzUR
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) May 26, 2026
His 2026 numbers before the injury were excellent. Sabrowski appeared in 25 games, going 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA across 21.0 innings with 39 strikeouts and a 0.952 WHIP. Those are elite relief numbers by any measure, and the strikeout rate reflects a pitcher who has been one of the most reliable and dominant options in Stephen Vogt’s bullpen when healthy. His career ERA of 1.43 across 63.0 innings with 100 strikeouts and a 1.032 WHIP puts him in conversation with some of the better relievers Cleveland has had in recent memory.
Losing him for any stretch of time hurts, but the early returns from Tuesday’s MRI suggest the concern is manageable. The 28-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta was originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 14th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kansas before eventually finding his home in Cleveland. He has proven throughout his career that he knows how to handle setbacks and come back stronger on the other side of them.
For a Guardians bullpen built around depth and reliability, this is exactly the kind of update this team needed to hear.
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