The Guardians announced that right-hander Triston McKenzie has been designated for assignment. They’ve selected the contract of righty Zak Kent from Triple-A Columbus in his place. The DFA marks the culmination of a lengthy period of struggle that dates back to 2023 for McKenzie, who once looked like a potential building block in Cleveland’s rotation.
McKenzie missed significant time in 2023 with a UCL injury that never wound up requiring surgery. He struggles before and after a pair of lengthy IL stints that season and has yet to regain his footing. He’s also out of minor league options, so the Guards couldn’t send him to Triple-A. McKenzie was one of a handful of notable out-of-options players we highlighted as a potential change-of-scenery candidate this spring. Given his pre-injury track record, it seems likely that another club will take a chance on him, presumably via a minor trade but at the very least via waivers.
Back in 2022, a then-24-year-old McKenzie broke out with 191 1/3 innings of 2.96 ERA ball. He punched out 25.6% of his opponents against a terrific 5.9% walk rate. That ostensible breakout came on the heels of a four-year run in which McKenzie ranked among the sport’s top-100 prospects. He didn’t throw hard, sitting 92.5 mph with his four-seamer, but he generated swinging strikes and chases on pitches off the plate at rates well north of the average pitcher. Given the right-hander’s prospect status and Cleveland’s penchant for churning out quality pitchers on a near-annual basis, McKenzie looked like the next in a long line of homegrown rotation arms to call Progressive Field home.
The previously mentioned UCL injury limited McKenzie to only four starts in 2023, however, and he looked like a completely different pitcher in 2024. The lanky 6’5″, 175-pound righty saw his average fastball freefall to 91.1 mph last year. His once-plus command was gone. He walked 14.4% of his opponents in 75 2/3 innings after having dished out free passes at a grisly 17.8% clip during that injury-ruined 2022 season. He allowed an average of 1.18 homers per nine innings during his standout 2022 season but saw that mark skyrocket to 2.26 per nine frames in ’24.
No longer able to entrust McKenzie with a rotation spot, the Guardians looked elsewhere to fill in the starting staff this winter. They acquired righty Luis Ortiz from the Pirates and re-signed Shane Bieber to a two-year deal (with an opt-out) while he mends from last year’s Tommy John surgery.
McKenzie opened the 2025 season in the bullpen. The Guards surely hoped that he could either find his footing as a reliever or pitch his way back into consideration for a starting role. Neither has happened. While McKenzie’s velocity is back up to an average of 93.7 mph on his heater, that’s likely due to him working in short-relief stints as opposed to being asked to face a lineup two to three times per outing. He’s pitched only 5 2/3 innings this season and been clobbered for seven runs. Command is still a glaring issue; he’s served up seven hits (including a homer), walked seven of his 30 opponents (23.3%) and already been charged with three wild pitches. McKenzie has only set down four batters on strikes.
More to come.
