McKenzie ready to reclaim spot in rotation

CLEVELAND – When Triston McKenzie was a child, he and his younger brother would constantly talk about what it would be like to make it to the Major Leagues one day. After McKenzie made his debut in 2020, his brother asked him what it was really like. McKenzie responded, “Everything we’ve ever talked about, it’s exactly that.”

McKenzie’s moment was special, getting the call up to start on Aug. 22 against the Tigers, striking out 10 batters in a 6-1 victory. He stayed with the Tribe for eight games (six starts), owning a 3.24 ERA with a 0.90 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 33 1/3 frames. Now, his goal will be to earn a permanent spot in the rotation. In order to do so, he took what he learned from his experience in 2020 into the offseason.

“I wouldn't say it's changed majorly,” McKenzie said. “It's more just kind of little things and knowing what that next level takes. Making sure I'm honing in on making sure I can get to that next level and stay there. I'd say the biggest thing that's differentiated this offseason from a lot of my past offseasons is the focus I've had and just me keying in to what I know works.”

McKenzie said that he didn’t add anything to his four-pitch mix. Instead, he’s looking to be more consistent with the arsenal he already boasts. His focus will also continue to be on keeping his body healthy to avoid the injuries that plagued him throughout his Minor League career. He had gone since August 2018 without pitching in a game before making his debut last season. His next step will be having more conversations with his coaching staff at Spring Training to determine what his upcoming workload will look like.

“I feel healthy,” McKenzie said. “That was kind of the goal last year to kind of test the waters and make sure I can go out there and perform. I feel healthy right now. I'm just excited to go out there and do it hopefully for 30 starts or 162 games.”

McKenzie has sat back and watched elite starters like Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber, Mike Clevinger and Carlos Carrasco get traded over the last two years, knowing that the faith in his and the other young starters’ abilities were the reasons that the Tribe had the freedom to make those moves.

“I feel like one, they're very confident in the guys they have in the organization, the pieces they've developed from rookie ball all the way up to big leagues,” McKenzie said. “I think you have proven examples over and over again. You see [Aaron] Civale, you see [Zach] Plesac, you see [Shane] Bieber at the big league level, and you come in as a rookie and you don't know what to expect from those guys, but you get consistency out of those guys. I think that allows them to make the moves that they have and be confident in those decisions.”

While he waits for Spring Training to get underway, McKenzie has kept himself busy by volunteering to be part of the True2U Mentoring program, which allows him to share what he’s learned throughout his young career and help guide Cleveland Metropolitan School District eighth graders on a course for success as they begin the transition from middle school to high school.

“I feel like I have a really good circle around me just in terms of my family and being around baseball, being able to look up to older guys who are in baseball that kind of kept me straight,” McKenzie said. “I feel like all of the positive influences that I had around me, I would just want to be one, around a younger kid and hopefully I can push them in the right direction.”

McKenzie will look to inspire the local youth while working to continue living his own dreams. In order to be ready for Spring Training, the 23-year-old said he’s kept his same offseason regiment, lifting weights four or five times a week, running and throwing.

“Just making sure I’m staying on top of all that stuff knowing that 2021 is going to be a different season from what I'm used to,” McKenzie said. “I'm just excited for it.”