The math says the Guardians’ chances of erasing a six-game deficit with only 24 games to catch the Twins are bleak. Triston McKenzie says otherwise.
McKenzie made two starts for the Guardians in early June and hasn’t faced live hitting since. He missed more than two months to start the season because of a shoulder injury.
The next step for McKenzie as he continues to recover from a right elbow injury comes Sept. 8 at Classic Park in Eastlake when he faces Captains’ batters before the Captains face the Lansing Lugnuts. Shane Bieber, also recovering from a right elbow injury, will pitch against Captains’ batters pregame on Sept. 7.
“I don’t think I’m throwing in the game,” McKenzie said Sept. 5 before the Guardians and Twins met at Progressive Field. “I think I’m just facing Lake County hitters. It’s going to be a live batting practice. It will be me facing hitters and getting as close to game-ready as I can.
“Excitement runs through my bones when it comes to pitching. I’m expecting it to be a tick up in intensity and another way to test my arm and make sure I feel good. I think it’s going to be an up-down situation where it simulates a game and has an innings-like structure.”
It has been a trying season for the slender right-hander. He was cruising through spring training, but he was pulled after one inning in the final Cactus League game of March because of shoulder tightness. McKenzie pitched five innings June 4 and five innings June 10 and then went back on the injured list because of the elbow injury.
“Excitement runs through my bones when it comes to pitching,” Triston McKenzie said Tuesday in the @CleGuardians clubhouse. McKenzie will face hitters Friday night at Classic Park before the @LCCaptains play Lansing. Shane Bieber will do the same on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/6eWNT3qAsQ
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) September 5, 2023
The injuries to McKenzie and Bieber plus starter Cal Quantrill, who was on the injured list twice with shoulder injuries, fast-tracked the ascension of Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen to the Guardians. Bibee took a 10-3 record into the game with the Twins on Sept. 5.
McKenzie is determined to rejoin the rotation before the season ends. Manager Terry Francona set Sept. 20 as a target date for McKenzie and Bieber to return to the active roster. McKenzie is confident there will still be a race to win the AL Central, and he wants to be part of it.
“I think we’re in position to win our division regardless of what it looks like at this very moment,” McKenzie said. “I think we’re close. Being able to contribute to that in any way is important to me as well as going out there and proving to myself I can go out and compete.”
The Guardians are not going to rush McKenzie or Bieber, and not just because the realistic chances of passing the Twins are slim, McKenzie’s confidence notwithstanding.
The point could be made, “Why bother? Just let McKenzie and Bieber rest so they can be fully charged when spring training rolls around in February.”
Bieber was in a similar situation in 2021. He started on June 13 that year, developed a shoulder injury and was shut down for more than three months. He was determined to pitch before the season ended and made two three-inning starts — one Sept. 24 and one Sept. 30. The brief outings gave him confidence he would be fine in 2022.
“We try to always first do what’s right for the player,” Francona said Sept. 4. “We’ve always done that, whether it’s convenient for us or not. You have to do what’s right for the player.
“This is all tentative because one day he might have the sniffles. Things change. But we want to get them to about 80 pitches before they would pitch for us.”
Francona said the next step for Bieber and McKenzie is rehab starts in minor-league games if they have no setbacks facing the Captains’ hitters.
