Cleveland Guardians Suffer Massive Injury Blow as Elite Reliever Could Miss Season
The Cleveland Guardians got massive injury news on Thursday, with it being announced that ace set-up man Trevor Stephan is slated for elbow surgery.
Per Mandy Bell of MLB.com:
And the bad news keeps coming.
Trevor Stephan will also be undergoing right elbow surgery in the next week or two.
After his elbow discomfort persisted, it was determined that his UCL is not providing adequate stability, which caused more pain.
No timetable for return yet.
While there's no indication yet on the timeline, it's at least fair to worry about the potential for a season-ending elbow surgery, which would be a major blow to the Guardians.
The 28-year-old righty is a huge part of the bullpen bridge that leads to ace closer Emmanuel Clase. He made 71 appearances a season ago, pitching to a 4.06 ERA and striking out 75 hitters in 68.2 innings.
He was slated to enter his fifth major league season with the New York Yankees and Guardians, having arrived in Cleveland for 2021.
Now, in his absence, the Guardians will have to lean on James Karinchak, who has been slowed by his own injury issues in spring.
The Guardians appear to be in a bit of transition this season and could be slated to miss the playoffs for the second year in a row. They have a new manager in Stephen Vogt after Terry Francona retired in the offseason.
However, if they can remain healthy in the starting rotation with Shane Bieber, Gavin Williams and Triston McKenzie, they'll have a chance at remaining interesting in the American League Central.
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