Cleveland Guardians’ Starter Triston McKenzie Sidelined With Elbow Issue

Right-handed Cleveland Guardians starter Triston McKenzie, 25, was unable to take the baseball in his projected start June 16, against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After missing time earlier this season with shoulder pain, McKenzie returned to make his first start June 4 against the Minnesota Twins. He was outstanding in that game, going 5 innings, and yielding no runs on only 1 hit. He walked 1, and struck out 10.

In his next start, June 10, McKenzie was far less effective. He was wild with his entire repertoire. He went 5 innings once again, but yielded 5 runs, all earned. He gave up 7 hits, walked 3, and struck out 5. He took the loss against the Houston Astros.

McKenzie, called “Dr. Sticks” by some, has a very tall, very lean frame. At 6-5, he weighs only 165 pounds. There are those that believe his innings should be limited due to the wear and tear his aggressive pitching has on his shoulder, elbow, and forearm.

Last year, McKenzie threw 191.1 innings in 30 starts for Cleveland. It was a surprising workload.

Now, the Guardians will have to determine the severity of McKenzie’s elbow issue, and where they go from here.

As this old scout has said many times, the shoulder, the elbow, and the forearm, are all related to the mechanics of throwing a baseball. It is not uncommon for one of those three parts to impact the others every time there is pain or something irregular. And clearly, pitchers compensate for pain, which could impact the entire physical throwing structure.

While there are ways to treat both the elbow and and the forearm, the shoulder is perplexing. Doctors and trainers have had little luck finding the methodology to treat shoulder injuries or tears in pitchers.

Touki Toussaint Makes The Start:

Veteran right-handed starter, Touki Toussaint, 26, was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to make the June 16 start against Arizona.

Toussaint, 6-3, 215 pounds, was selected by the Diamondbacks in the 1st round of the 2014 Major League Draft, out of Coral Springs Christian Academy in Florida.

Toussaint has pitched in parts of only five big league seasons.

The Diamondbacks traded Toussaint to the Atlanta Braves in June 2015.

Since that trade, Toussaint pitched for Atlanta from 2018-2021, making 21 starts for the Braves.

The Los Angeles Angels purchased Toussaint’s contract July 4, 2022. He was granted free agency last November.

The Guardians signed Toussaint in January this year, and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus. This season, Toussaint was 2-1, with a 4.06 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 20 games. He only made 1 start. He has pitched only 37.2 innings.

The news of McKenzie being scratched was a bit of a shock. However, the fact that Touki Toussaint has been selected to take McKenzie’s June 16 start agains the Arizona Diamondbacks may be even more shocking.

With the latest injury to McKenzie, it would appear the Cleveland Guardians have to scrap any plans they may have had for trading a starting pitcher such as Shane Bieber until they learn of McKenzie’s ability to continue this season.