CLEVELAND, Ohio — Triston McKenzie went unclaimed on waivers and has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus from the Guardians.
Cleveland designated McKenzie for assignment last week after the 27-year-old righty posted an 11.12 ERA with four strikeouts, seven walks and a home run allowed in 5 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.
The Guardians had seven days to trade or release McKenzie, or assign him outright to the minors. In order for McKenzie to collect the remainder of his $1.95 million salary, he had to accept the assignment.
A 2015 first round pick by Cleveland out of Royal Palm Beach Community HS in Florida McKenzie was a former No. 1 prospect in the organization. He debuted in August of 2020 with a brilliant six-inning, 10-strikeout performance against the Tigers. McKenzie flirted with a perfect game, going 7 2/3 innings without allowing a hit or a walk against Detroit in August of 2021 and finished that season with the sixth-most strikeouts by a Cleveland rookie with 136.
McKenzie spent two promising seasons in Cleveland’s starting rotation, culminating in six shutout innings during a Wild Card playoff win against Tampa Bay in 2022.
Injuries plagued the pitcher affectionately known as “Dr. Sticks” for his long, lean build during his time in the major leagues with Cleveland. He spent time on the injured list with right shoulder fatigue in August of his rookie campaign and was sidelined twice in 2023, first by a Teres Major muscle strain during spring training, and again in June when he suffered a right elbow strain.
McKenzie elected to rehab the elbow injury, rather than pursuing a surgical solution, before making two starts in late September. Healthy at the start of 2024, McKenzie was ultimately ineffective as a starter for a Cleveland team that was desperate for rotation help, going 3-5 with a 5.11 ERA in 16 starts and allowing 19 home runs before being optioned to Triple-A Columbus at the end of June.
Out of minor league options, the 6-foot-5, 165-pounder was relegated to a relief role this year as home runs and walks continued to become an issue. He appeared in four games, with his most recent coming in a disastrous effort in Baltimore that saw him allow a home run and four earned runs while surrendering a walk and two wild pitches.
