The Cleveland Guardians placed right-handed starter Ben Lively on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday because of a right flexor tendon strain.
In a corresponding move, rookie right-handed reliever Zak Kent was recalled from Triple-A Columbus.
Lively, 33, was warming up for the top of the fourth inning on Monday against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers when he exited the game. He allowed one hit and two walks with one strikeout in three scoreless innings of a 5-0 win over the Brewers.
He underwent imaging on Tuesday that revealed the forearm strain, which also was an issue for Lively in 2024 and in his previous start May 7 against the Washington Nationals, manager Stephen Vogt said on Tuesday. Lively threw 5 1/3 innings and earned the win in Game 2 of that doubleheader as the Guardians beat the Nationals 9-1.
“He felt a little bit after we took him out (in Washington), but he went through his normal progression (between starts),” Vogt said. “We knew that it had been going on, but it wasn’t a huge red flag or anything, and then it just came back on one pitch in the outing (Monday).”
Lively shares the major-league lead with nine starts this season and he owns a 2-2 record with a 3.22 ERA, 15 walks and 29 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings.
For his career, Lively is 23-29 with a 4.38 ERA, 128 walks and 306 strikeouts in 404 1/3 innings over 83 games (70 starts) for the Philadelphia Phillies (2017-18), Kansas City Royals (2018-19), Cincinnati Reds (2023) and Guardians (2024-present).
Kent, 27, made his major league debut on April 23 and is 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA, two walks and five strikeouts in four innings.
