On June 4, 2025, Cleveland Guardians starter and pending free agent Ben Lively had Tommy John surgery with a right flexor tendon repair. At the time, he was deemed out for 12-16 months.
Lively had been enjoying success with the Guardians up until that point, posting a 3.22 ERA after his 3.81 mark in 2024. During the offseason, they re-signed Lively to a two-year minor league deal, knowing that the 2026 campaign would be mostly rehab work.
However, they got a boost on Saturday, when it was revealed that the veteran right-hander will be taking an important step toward contributing this year.
“Ben Lively will initiate a rehab stint with the Lake County Captains, per the Guardians,” Mason Horodyski of News 5 Cleveland posted.
Ben Livley will initiate a rehab stint with the Lake County Captians, per the #Guardians @LCCaptains x #GuardsBall x @WEWS
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) July 25, 2026
Lake County is Cleveland’s High-A affiliate, which means that the organization is taking it slow with Lively. But it also means that he could be back in late August to help the Guardians if he looks good in his rehab assignment.
Players are typically awarded a 30-day rehab window to get ready and be activated. But Lively is on a minor league deal, and the team might simply choose to assign him to Triple-A Columbus for a while and wait until there’s a major league opening.
The expectation is that Lively begins his rehab assignment in the coming days after clearing multiple hurdles that included bullpen sessions and live batting practice. He is expected to gradually increase the number of pitches and innings per game as well as the level of difficulty.
The Guardians’ starting pitching depth this season is basically Logan Allen. The top five guys — Parker Messick, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Joey Cantillo and Slade Cecconi — have all remained healthy to this point, but that doesn’t mean it will always be the case. If something were to happen to one or two of them, it could be difficult to overcome.
That’s where Lively, who is a solid, underrated producer, can help, but first, he will need to show that he is fully recovered during his rehab assignment.
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