A few days ago, Cleveland Guardians starter Gavin Williams felt some discomfort in his right elbow following a weighted ball workout.
Young pitchers with elbow discomfort will usually fire up the alarms for every team in the world, let alone one with playoff aspirations in MLB.
After a couple of days undergoing tests and imaging, there is some bittersweet news to report.
On the downside, Williams will start the year on the injured list.
However, and considering the multiple scenarios involving muscular, ligament, or bone damage, it’s safe to say that the Guardians dodged a bullet with Williams.
“Gavin Williams will start the year on the injured list. He’ll need another three or four days without throwing before he ramps back up. He won’t have enough time to build up completely before Opening Day. He had an MRI and everything looked OK, structurally,” Guardians insider Mandy Bell tweeted on Thursday.
Gavin Williams will start the year on the injured list. He’ll need another three or four days without throwing before he ramps back up. He won’t have enough time to build up completely before Opening Day. He had an MRI and everything looked OK, structurally.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) March 14, 2024
The only reason why Williams will miss the start of the season is because he will need to rest for a few days and then he will run out of time to fully ramp up before the action starts.
If the season started, say in mid or late-April, he would be all systems go.
There is no structural damage in his elbow, and that’s all that matters.
The team can be without him for a couple of weeks, perhaps a bit more, to allow him the necessary time to build up arm strength and be an option to go five or six innings per start.
The Guardians will miss him while he is gone, though, as he posted a brilliant 3.29 ERA in 82 MLB frames last year.
He showed he belongs in The Show.
NEXT: Guardians Coach Shares Latest Update On Gavin Williams