Guardians ace shut down for at least two weeks

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie has been diagnosed with a strain of the teres major muscle in his throwing shoulder, the club announced. He’ll be shut down from throwing for at least two weeks before being reassesed. The club indicated he could be out of MLB action for as much as two months, though that seems to be at the more pessimistic end of the possible timetable.

McKenzie was yanked from Sunday’s spring training start after one inning because of arm discomfort. The club sent him for an MRI which revealed the strain that required the shutdown. He’ll obviously open the season on the 15-day injured list, with his eventual timetable dictated by his reevaluation a couple weeks from now. Even if he’s cleared to resume throwing at first check, he’ll have to restart a throwing program and build his way back into game shape.

It’s an unfortunate blow for Cleveland a few days from the start of the season. McKenzie has somewhat quietly broken through as one of the sport’s most effective pitchers. He threw 191.1 innings over 31 appearances last year, pitching to a 2.96 ERA. The 6-foot-5 hurler punched out an above-average 25.6% of batters faced while keeping his walks down to a stellar 5.9% clip. He generated swinging strikes on a very strong 13% of his offerings.

McKenzie had been slated to team with Shane Bieber and Cal Quantrill to form an excellent trio at the front of the rotation. Bieber and Quantrill will likely be followed by Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale, with the final rotation spot now a question. Righty Hunter Gaddis and left-hander Konnor Pilkington each made their MLB debuts last season and hold 40-man roster spots. They could battle for the fifth starter role in McKenzie’s absence, particularly with righty Cody Morris also on the shelf due to teres major soreness of his own.