The Cleveland Guardians have been known for their reliable bullpen for years.
Season after season, they find ways to put together an above-average bullpen, combining their own minor league players who graduate with under-the-radar free agent and trade acquisitions.
They actually found Trevor Stephan in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft.
Since that moment, he took a relief spot and ran away with it, posting a career 3.73 ERA in 195.2 frames with the Guardians since 2021.
Stephan was going to enter the 2024 campaign as one of the most reliable arms in their bullpen.
The Guards, however, will be without him for the foreseeable future due to an injury.
“The Guardians are shutting down reliever Trevor Stephan for three weeks because of a deep bone bruise in his elbow. Manager Stephen Vogt said Stephan’s elbow is fine structurally, no ligament issues,” Guardians insider Zack Meisel tweeted.
The Guardians are shutting down reliever Trevor Stephan for three weeks because of a deep bone bruise in his elbow. Manager Stephen Vogt said Stephan’s elbow is fine structurally, no ligament issues.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) February 28, 2024
Despite the fact that Stephan is now probably not going to be ready for the start of the 2024 regular season, it’s fair to say the organization dodged a bullet.
Yes, that’s right: despite the elbow pain and the deep bone bruise, there is nothing structurally wrong with the area,
No tears, no strains, nothing.
That’s incredibly encouraging because it means Stephan avoided a long injured list stay or, worse yet, surgery.
He will probably be back to help his team at some point in April or May, if all goes well.
Cleveland is a better team when Stephan is dominant and at his best, much like it happened in 2022 when he had a 2.69 ERA.
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