Ben

Lively

Lively won’t potentially return to Cleveland’s rotation until the second half of next season and there’s a chance he won’t make it back until the 2027 campaign. He would be 35 years old at that point. He suffered the right elbow injury back on May 12 and was transferred to the 60-day injured list last week.

Lively is set to undergo season-ending UCL surgery and will miss the remainder of the season, so it was only a matter of time before the Guardians utilized that roster spot. Matt Krook was claimed off of waivers and optioned to Triple-A Columbus in a corresponding move on Thursday.

The surgery will not only cause Lively to miss the rest of this season, but the 12-16 month recovery time suggests he’ll miss a large portion of 2026 as well. The 33-year-old was a big part of the Guardians’ pitching staff, and now likely won’t be available for Cleveland — or possibly a new organization — until around the All-Star break next season.

No word yet on how much time Lively is going to miss, but it figures to be an extended absence given the nature of the injury, which can offer be a precursor to more significant elbow issues. The 33-year-old made an early exit from Monday’s start against the Brewers after three scoreless innings. It’ll be Zak Kent coming up to take his spot on Cleveland’s active roster as extra relief depth. No word on how the Guardians plan to fill his rotation spot.

It’s definitely not what you want to hear. Lively left with a trainer following a handful of warmup pitches at the outset of the fourth inning after tossing three scoreless frames to open the contest. It certainly sounds like a potential injured list situation, which could lead to an opportunity for a younger arm like Doug Nikhazy at the highest level.

Lively was removed from the contest after throwing a couple warmup tosses at the outset of the fourth inning. The 33-year-old righty scattered one hit and a pair of walks over three frames to open Monday’s game at Progressive Field. There should be an update on his status following the game.

He struck out three. Aided by an easy schedule that’s included two starts against the Royals and one each against the White Sox and Pirates, Lively has a fine 3.46 ERA through eight starts. He’ll get another little assist next week when he misses the Phillies series and instead faces the Brewers.

Lively left with a 2-0 lead, but it didn’t hold up, leaving him stuck on one victory for the season. It’s the third time he’s pitched at least five innings and allowed no runs, but he’s missed out on getting much run support. He’ll bring a 3.72 ERA into his next start in Washington, and he’ll make some sense as a streaming option in deep leagues then.

Lively was burned by the long ball in this one as all of the damage against him came courtesy of a three-run blast by Wilyer Abreau in the opening frame and a solo shot from Rafael Devers in the third. He struck out four and also issued a pair of walks. He’ll bring a pedestrian 4.40 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 23/11 K/BB ratio across 30 2/3 innings (six starts) into a home outing on Wednesday against the Twins.

The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Saturday. Expect Friday’s scheduled starters — Tanner Houck and Ben Lively — to each pitch at some point on Saturday. The first game will start at 1:10 PM and the second will begin at 6:10 PM.