Guardians Manager Reveals Major Take on Erratic Pitcher

The Cleveland Guardians managed to win the AL Central division title and advance all the way to the ALCS last season in spite of their horrific starting pitching, but they may not be so lucky in 2025.

Typically, pitching wins in baseball, and while the Guardians had a dominant bullpen in 2024, they actually had one of the worst starting rotations in the MLB.

It's hard to imagine Cleveland continuing to get by with that strategy, which is why some of its young arms need to step up in the spring.

One key pitcher for the Guardians is right-hander Triston McKenzie, who showed plenty of promise a few years ago, but he has fallen flat over the last couple of seasons, thanks much in part to various injuries that sabotaged his 2023 campaign and affected his preparation for last year.

However, manager Stephen Vogt has high hopes for McKenzie heading into 2025.

“Now having a full year of health under his belt and he’s been working really hard, I’m excited to watch Triston throw,” Vogt said, via Mandy Bell of MLB.com. “[The key is] just executing. Just pounding the strike zone with his best stuff consistently.”

Back in 2022, McKenzie went 11-11 with a 2.96 ERA, allowing 138 hits while registering 190 strikeouts over 191.1 innings of work.

He then made just four starts in 2023, and last season, he went 3-5 with a 5.11 ERA over 16 starts before being demoted.

The 27-year-old definitely has great stuff, so we'll see if he can recover and make an impact in the Guardians' rotation in 2025.