DETROIT — Guardians starter Ben Lively will undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in the coming days, ending the 2025 season for a journeyman pitcher who had found a home in Cleveland’s rotation. Lively is expected to miss 12 to 16 months.
Lively wanted to pitch through the pain. He said he hesitated to speak up when he felt forearm discomfort, first during a start in Washington, D.C. on May 6 and again six days later against the Brewers. He dubbed it “the craziest mental game of all time” as he tried to focus on each hitter while the tightness in his arm became more alarming.
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He felt even more conflicted because he was cruising on the mound. He had never pitched this well, he said. In three May starts, spanning 14 innings, he allowed only one run on eight hits.
“They were basically like, ‘OK, stop, Mr. Tough Guy,’” Lively said last week.
He exited that start against Milwaukee after three innings and landed on the injured list with what was initially termed a right flexor tendon strain. On Tuesday in Dallas, he received a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister, the renowned surgeon who routinely delivers grim news to pitchers with elbow trouble.
Meister and the Guardians’ physicians recommended a reconstruction of Lively’s right ulnar collateral ligament and a repair of the flexor tendon.
Lively signed a league-minimum deal with the Guardians in December 2023. He figured he’d fill a swingman role, making a spot start when needed or pitching in long relief. Instead, a slew of injuries forced him into the rotation. He posted a 3.81 ERA in 29 starts, proving to be one of the most reliable entities on a team that made a run to the ALCS.
From 2017-21, Lively bounced from the Phillies to the Reds, Royals and Diamondbacks, and spent three seasons with the Samsung Lions in South Korea. When he signed with Cleveland, he owned a career ERA of 5.05.
In his two seasons with the Guardians, his ERA sits at 3.68, the 15th-best mark among AL pitchers with that many starts since the beginning of the 2024 season.
“That’s the worst part about it,” Lively said. “That’s why I just wanted to keep running back onto the field, even though it was (painful).”
Slade Cecconi, acquired from the Diamondbacks for Josh Naylor in December, assumed Lively’s spot in the rotation last weekend. The Guardians should get longtime ace Shane Bieber, who had Tommy John surgery in April 2024, back from the injured list in the next six weeks or so.
Cleveland’s starters rank fourth in the majors in ERA in the month of May.
(Photo of Ben Lively: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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Fuksa vyhrál na Světovém poháru v Poznani i závod na 1000 metrů
Online magazín deníku Právo & Seznam.czCopyright © 1996–2025, Seznam.cz, a.s., Borgis, a.s., ČTK, DPA, Reuters, fotobanka Profimedia.Publikování nebo další šíření obsahu serveru Sport.cz je bez písemného souhlasu společnosti Borgis, a.s. zakázáno. RSS kanály serveru Sport.cz jsou určeny pouze pro osobní užití. Jakékoli kopírování, šíření nebo využívání obsahu RSS kanálů serveru Sport.cz bez předchozího písemného souhlasu společnosti Borgis a.s. není dovoleno. Dodavatelem obsahu serveru Sport.cz a osobou vykonávající redakční odpovědnost je společnost BORGIS a.s. Šiřitelem reklamy na serveru Sport.cz je společnost Seznam.cz, a.s., IČO 26168685.
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