Battenfield (shoulder) covered 5.1 innings in his rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Columbus, striking out two while allowing four earned runs on six hits and three walks.
The appearance with Columbus marked the fourth of Battenfield's rehab assignment, which began at Double-A Akron before he moved up to the Guardians' top affiliate last week. He's turned in an acceptable 4.15 ERA but a poor 13:10 K:BB in 17.1 innings through those four outings, but the Guardians could still view him as their preferred No. 5 starter over Xzavion Curry, who recently moved out of the bullpen to make a pair of three-inning spot starts. After stretching out to 86 pitches Sunday, Battenfield could be activated from the 60-day injured list to take the hill when the Guardians next require a fifth starter Friday versus the White Sox.