Williams shut down after setback in elbow recovery

CLEVELAND -- The blows keep coming to the Guardians’ rotation.

Gavin Williams seemed to be on the road to recovery when, after his three-inning start in Arizona, he experienced the same soreness in the back of his right elbow that shut him down during Spring Training. He flew to Cleveland to get checked by the Guardians’ medical staff and received external opinions. It was determined that an anti-inflammatory injection would be the best option to ease the pain while trying to avoid a big setback.

Williams will not throw for seven days. At that point, the team is hopeful that he can resume throwing and essentially pick up where he left off.

“They're hoping that at the end of this seven days, he can resume throwing and not fall too far back,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “So again, just trying to cover all the bases and be as cautious as possible.”

Williams did not come to Cleveland because of his soreness, Vogt said. The plan was for the right-hander to join the big league club after his Arizona start to determine his path forward. It just so happened that his flare up occurred and more evaluation was required when he got to town.

This would be a big blow for the Guardians even if their entire rotation was healthy. It was difficult news during Spring Training, when Shane Bieber (who is out for the year due to UCL surgery) was still in peak form. What was supposed to be a few weeks of down time for Williams after making an awkward throw with a weighted ball during spring workouts has now turned into a tremendous concern.

Right now, the rotation consists of Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, Triston McKenzie, Carlos Carrasco and Ben Lively. Xzavion Curry made a spot start last week and was optioned to Triple-A Columbus to make room for Lively to fill in. Curry could easily be worked back into the mix at some point soon, but that puts a lot of pressure on a rotation that’s been trying to piece things together.

Allen and Bibee are still settling into their sophomore campaigns. McKenzie is trying to regain his 2022 form while bouncing back from the elbow troubles he had last year. Carrasco is striving to get deeper in his outings. Lively has done everything the Guardians could’ve asked in his first two starts since coming off the IL (viral illness in spring), but the team is still learning about him.

This isn’t the rotation the Guardians envisioned they’d have at this point in the season. They also don’t have many depth pieces aside from Curry to turn to if other options are needed. No. 10 prospect Joey Cantillo would be the first name to come to mind, but he’s been out with a hamstring strain. Aside from Curry, there are four pitchers currently with Columbus who have made at least two starts:

RHP Connor Gillispie: 23 innings, 17 runs, 15 earned runs (5.87 ERA), seven homers, one hit batter, 11 walks, 24 strikeouts
LHP Will Dion: 17 2/3 innings, 19 runs, 14 earned runs (7.13 ERA), three homers, 13 walks and 21 strikeouts
RHP Adam Oller: 15 innings, seven runs (all earned, 4.20 ERA), two homers, seven walks, 20 strikeouts
RHP Hunter Stanley: 11 2/3 innings, seven runs (all earned, 5.40 ERA), three homers, five walks, 14 strikeouts

The guys in Triple-A will need more developmental time before getting thrust into the Major League spotlight. The depth is getting thinner. The Guardians will have to hope that Williams is going to be down for just these seven days and can get back into the mix with no issues in the near future. If more flare ups occur, it’s going to only mean more pressure for the coaching staff to have to piece together the rotation. But the team isn’t looking that far ahead. For now, it’s focusing on the hot start it’s gotten off to.

“All we can control is today,” Vogt said. “We keep getting punched. Every team right now is getting punched. It's not exclusive to us, but all we can control is the 26 guys who are here tonight, go out, compete and take care of what we can today and then we'll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

“We feel for our boys. … It does take a hit, and that's OK for you to feel a little down in the dumps when things like this happen, but again, all we can control is what we can do today, and that's the message that [we’ll] continue to say.”