Guardians Reliever To Miss Time With Shoulder Injury
Unforntunly, it was only a matter of time before Cleveland Guardians fans got some bad news out of Spring Training.
Everything was going great over the first week. There was something to like about each starter's performance, Josh Bell already has a home run, unexpected heroes such as Roman Quinn have already emerged, and Gabriel Arias looks like he's ready to hit .300 this season.
However, all of those good vibes were put on hold when the team learned that they would be without Sam Hentges for the foreseeable future. The reliever has shoulder inflammation and the Guardians will have him on a week-to-week schedule.
Hentges was an important piece to Cleveland's bullpen in 2022 and helped them become of the best staffs in all of baseball. The reliever held a 2.23 ERA and 0.968 WHIP in 57 appearances.
He made his debut with Cleveland as a starting pitcher in 2021 but struggled in that role a lot. But Hentges found a home in the bullpen in 2022.
There's another reason the Hentges is vital to Cleveland's success. He's currently the only left-handed reliever they have. A bullpen full of righties can stay afloat if they needed to but the reality is it's not sustainable for an entire season. There are too many holes that could be exposed by opposing teams.
On the bright side, we're still incredibly early in Spring Training. Hentges has plenty of time to rehab and get healthy before Opening Day.
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