In 2021, Civale got off to a strong start before he was sidelined for more than two months with a sprained middle finger. Last year, he made three separate trips to the IL with left glute soreness, a right wrist sprain and right forearm inflammation.

Guardians manager Terry Francona continued to say that the team knows how effective Civale can be if he can stay healthy. Now, they have to figure out how to fill yet another vacancy in this rotation.

Battenfield to start … possibly
The Guardians called on Battenfield to fill the opening on the active roster. On Monday, he’ll be added into the bullpen mix to help bring some additional depth after Sunday’s 12-inning marathon against the Mariners. But Cleveland isn’t itching to get him into a game before Wednesday.

The plan will be to keep Battenfield as a relief option for Monday and Tuesday. If he’s needed, the Guardians will call on him. But if he’s not, it’s likely that he’ll take Civale’s place to start against the Yankees in the series finale on Wednesday.

Other starting options would include Xzavion Curry or deploying an opener, assuming the club doesn’t exhaust the bullpen over the next two games.

McKenzie down until the end of May
Yes, McKenzie was moved to the 60-day IL to make room for Battenfield, but that doesn’t mean he’s experiencing setbacks with his recovery from a strain in his right shoulder’s teres major muscle.

McKenzie underwent a positive check up on Sunday. He was asymptomatic during all the tests and he was cleared to begin throwing weighted balls. By the end of the week, he should begin a throwing program.  --->  to be continued,  eventually --->