CLEVELAND — Things are looking a bit rough for the Guardians' pitching staff.
The club announced Monday it has placed starting pitcher Aaron Civale on the 15-day injured list with a strained left oblique muscle. In addition, fellow starter Triston McKenzie has been transferred to the 60-day IL as he recovers from a shoulder strain suffered at the end of spring training.
Civale is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA over his initial two starts, and the news of his injury comes just three days after he took the mound for Cleveland's home opener. The right hander followed up seven shutout innings in his first outing with four more scoreless frames to begin his second, but allowed four runs on six hits over his final 1 2/3 as the Seattle Mariners came from behind to beat the Guards 5-3. He also threw 103 pitches, his most in any game since May of 2021.
McKenzie has not pitch yet this year after being sidelines with a strained teres major muscle, but appeared to be making progress with the team stating he was on track to begin throwing again this week. It is unknown if the move to the 60-day IL means there has been a setback in his recovery, but the 25-year-old is now ineligible to return until at least late May after posting a 2.96 ERA in 2022.
Hunter Gaddis has taken McKenzie's spot in the rotation for the time being, and now rookie Peyton Battenfield will replace Civale and likely start Wednesday against the New York Yankees. The Guardians purchased Battenfield's contract from Triple-A Columbus after McKenzie's move to the 60-day opened up a 40-man roster spot.
A former ninth-round draft pick by the Houston Astros, Battenfield was acquired by Cleveland from the Tampa Bay organization in 2021 in a deal that sent outfielder Jordan Luplow and reliever DJ Johnson to the Rays. The 25-year-old righty has yet to pitch in the majors, but did go 8-6 with a 3.63 ERA across 28 starts for Columbus last season. He earned an invite to big league camp this spring, and allowed two earned runs in five innings in his opening start for the Clippers on April 4.
The Guards' three-game home series with the Yanks begins tonight, giving both teams a rematch of last year's American League Division Series which New York won in five games.
Tom Withers of the Associated Press contributed to this report