Triston McKenzie’s Fall from Guardians Ace to DFA Mystery
It’s hard to believe just how quickly things have unraveled for Triston McKenzie. If you told me a couple years ago that McKenzie—who looked like the future ace of the Guardians—would be designated for assignment in 2025, I’d have laughed it off. But here we are, and Cleveland just made it official.
Not too long ago, McKenzie was the guy. Back in 2022, he was electric. He had that smooth, whippy delivery, pinpoint command, and a curveball that made batters buckle. He posted a 2.96 ERA over nearly 200 innings that season. He looked poised to be the cornerstone of a young, promising rotation. But ever since an elbow injury in 2023—one that didn’t require surgery at the time but clearly disrupted everything—he hasn’t been the same.
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That 2023 season was plagued with IL stints, and in 2024, things just went from bad to worse. Velocity dipped, command disappeared, and the confidence he used to pitch with? Gone. He walked nearly 18% of the batters he faced in ’23 and gave up bombs at a rate that just wasn’t sustainable. The Guardians gave him a shot this year out of the bullpen, probably hoping a lower-stress role would help him reset. Instead, the numbers have been brutal: a bloated 11.12 ERA in less than six innings, with more walks than strikeouts. That’s not just a slump. That’s a breakdown.
The issue is, Cleveland couldn’t just stash him in the minors—he’s out of options. So their hands were tied. Enter Zak Kent, called up from Triple-A to take his spot. Kent’s been solid in Columbus, and the Guardians are clearly looking for stability right now.
The part that stings the most, though? McKenzie is still just 27. There’s real talent in that lanky 6’5” frame. You don’t just forget how to pitch like he did in 2022. But the velocity drop, the wildness, and now the weight of trying to rebuild himself on the fly—while switching teams, possibly cities, coaches, routines—that’s a tall order.
Any team picking him up now will be banking on a full-on reclamation. It’s a gamble, but someone will roll the dice. Maybe the Dodgers, maybe the Rays, maybe even a rebuilding team like the Nationals or Marlins just looking to catch lightning in a bottle. Whoever it is, they’ll be starting from square one.
It’s a rough end to his Cleveland chapter, but here’s hoping this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Triston McKenzie in the majors. He’s got the tools, he just needs the right setting—and maybe, finally, the medical path he tried to avoid.
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