The Guardians have made a series of roster moves. Right-hander James Karinchak has been recalled to the active roster while left-hander Alex Young has had his contract selected. In corresponding moves, lefty Anthony Gose was placed on the injured list with a left triceps strain, Anthony Castro was optioned to Triple-A and lefty Kirk McCarty was designated for assignment. The Guardians had an active roster of 27 for Saturday’s doubleheader but needed to get it back down to 26 Sunday, which explains why they are adding two players to the roster but subtracting three.
Young was a second-round draft pick of the Diamondbacks in 2015, making his MLB debut with them in 2019. In 83 1/3 innings, he put up an ERA of 3.56, along with a 20.3% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 48.1% ground ball rate. Things went the wrong direction in subsequent seasons, however, as Young’s ERA jumped up to 5.44 in 2020 and then 6.26 in 2021. He was designated for assignment and claimed by Cleveland last year, putting up a 7.84 ERA in 10 1/3 innings after the claim.
In November, the Guardians made a huge roster overhaul prior to the Rule 5 draft, selecting 10 players and designating seven for assignment. Young was one of those in the latter group, eventually clearing waivers and staying in the organization. He’s made 27 relief appearances for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers this season and has fared quite well. He has an ERA of 3.14 along with a 37.1% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 46.9% ground ball rate. Based on that successful run, he’ll get another crack at the majors.
McCarty, 26, was selected to the big league club in April, making it to the MLB level for the first time. He’s thrown 12 innings in the show but struggled to an ERA of 9.00. He’s fared much better in Triple-A, with a 3.77 ERA in 43 innings, but the club has decided to risk losing him.
The Guardians are in the midst of a particularly grueling portion of their schedule. After a doubleheader Saturday, they also have a doubleheader against the Tigers on Monday. That means they are playing five games in three days, with two more games before the next off day. Due to the need for fresh arms, it seems the collateral damage is McCarty losing his roster spot. The team will have seven days to trade him or put him through waivers.
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