Guardians, Ben Lively Finalizing Minor League Deal

The Guardians are finalizing a two-year minor league contract with right-hander Ben Lively, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Lively, who underwent Tommy John surgery last June, is already at the team’s spring complex in Arizona, suggesting the deal should be wrapped up soon. He’s represented by Meister Sports Management.

A fourth-round pick by the Reds back in 2013, Lively struggled in a handful of major league opportunities with the Phillies and Royals in 2017-19 before heading over to the Korea Baseball Organization, where he enjoyed a nice two-and-a-half year run with the Samsung Lions. The Reds brought him back to North American ball ahead of the 2023 season, but he struggled in 88 2/3 frames (5.38 ERA) before being cut loose. Cleveland saw enough in his raw stuff and underlying metrics to bring him aboard on a major league deal in the 2023-24 offseason, and it proved to be a major bargain.

In 2024, Lively tossed 151 innings with a 3.81 earned run average, an 18.7% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate over the life of 29 starts. He entered the 2025 season locked into a rotation spot for manager Stephen Vogt and posted a sharp-looking 3.22 ERA in nine starts, but the under-the-hood numbers were less encouraging. Lively’s strikeout rate dipped to 16.3% while his walk rate rose to 8.4%. His chase rate, swinging-strike rate and opponents’ contact rate all went in the wrong direction. Metrics like SIERA (5.30) and FIP (4.59) were far more bearish than his baseline earned run average.

Lively hit the injured list after just nine starts in 2025. He was originally diagnosed with a strained flexor tendon, but further imaging revealed significant damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow as well. The Guardians announced in late May that Lively was headed for Tommy John surgery and would also have that flexor tendon repaired in the process. The procedure came with a recovery period of 12 to 16 months, per the club.

Given that timetable, the two-year nature of this new arrangement makes sense. There’s at least a chance Lively could be back in the fold midseason, but his rehab could extend into September, effectively eating up the entire 2026 campaign. In that case, Cleveland would still retain the right-hander as a non-roster player over the course of the 2026-27 offseason, and he could compete for a spot in the rotation ahead of the ’27 campaign.

Lively obviously won’t be in Cleveland’s rotation mix heading into the season. The Guardians will rely on Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Parker Messick, Slade Cecconi and Logan Allen, perhaps with left-hander Joey Cantillo also factoring into the equation.