Guardians' Ben Lively: Activated from IL at Triple-A
Rotowire
Lively (elbow) was activated from the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Columbus on Friday.
Lively underwent UCL reconstruction surgery on his right elbow in May 2025 and made four rehab starts at High-A Lake County, posting a 17.28 ERA, 3.12 WHIP and 7:5 K:BB across 8.1 innings. Lively had a 3.22 ERA and 29:15 K:BB across nine starts with Cleveland last season prior to his injury.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Slowly building up on rehab
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Lively (elbow) allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out three over 2.2 innings for High-A Lake County on Tuesday.
Lively made a third rehab start for the Captains, as the organization is slowly building up the the right-hander, who underwent UCL reconstruction and a flexor tendon repair in May 2025. He's gone from 32 to 36 and now 48 pitches in his three outings.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Building up on rehab
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Lively (elbow) began a rehab assignment at High-A Lake County and has made two starts for the Captains, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Lively was a rotation staple the last two seasons for Cleveland before undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2025. He's been knocked around in both rehab outings, but the right-hander's main focus is on building up innings and pitch counts. "I'm actually throwing my fastball a little bit harder," Lively said. "I'm just in a little tweener space with my breaking balls. But it's better and better each time. My body feels great." Lively was charged with eight runs over one inning (32 pitches) in his first rehab start and then served up two homers over 1.2 innings (36 pitches) in his next one. The Guardians signed him to a two-year minor-league contract in the offseason and can option Lively to the minors upon completion of the rehab assignment.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Back with Guardians on minors deal
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The Guardians re-signed Lively (elbow) to a two-year minor-league contract Thursday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Lively will be in camp with Cleveland as he continues his rehab from a UCL reconstruction and flexor tendon repair that he had last May. He's currently throwing out to 75 feet, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. The right-hander has a chance to make some appearances late in the 2026 season, but this is more of a depth addition for 2027 by the Guardians. Lively has posted a 3.68 ERA and 147:64 K:BB over 195.2 innings covering 38 starts during his two seasons in Cleveland.
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Ben Lively: Loses roster spot
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Lively (elbow) was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus by the Guardians on Thursday and elected free agency, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Lively was a fairly effective starter for Cleveland to begin the season with a 3.22 ERA over 44.2 innings, but he underwent elbow surgery in late May. He likely won't be able to retake a big-league mound until the middle of the 2026 season, so it may take him some time to find a new opportunity.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Lands on IL with flexor strain
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The Guardians placed Lively on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a right flexor strain, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Lively was forced from Monday's start versus the Brewers with what was called right forearm inflammation at the time, but subsequent testing has revealed a more serious injury. It's unclear at this point how long he might be sidelined, but it will undoubtedly be longer than a minimum stay on the IL. Kolby Allard threw three scoreless innings Monday after Lively exited and looks to be the most likely candidate to fill Livey's rotation spot in the short term.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Exits start with undisclosed injury
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Lively departed Monday's start versus the Brewers after three innings with an undisclosed injury, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Lively didn't suffer an obvious injury, but he threw a couple warmup pitches prior to the top of the fourth inning before walking off the field and into the clubhouse. The righty allowed one hit and two walks over three scoreless frames before being lifted. The Guardians should have more on Lively's status soon.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Nabs win in nightcap
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Lively (2-2) picked up the win in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Nationals, allowing one run on two hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out three.
The Guardians scored nine runs in each end of the twin bill, but after falling 10-9 in the matinee, Lively made sure the fireworks would be more than enough offense in the nightcap. The right-hander had his shutout bid ended in the sixth inning on a Riley Adams solo shot, and he left the mound after just 63 pitches (39 strikes). Lively will take a 3.46 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 28:13 K:BB through 41.2 innings into his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home early next week against the Brewers.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Hit hard in no-decision
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Lively didn't factor into the decision in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Red Sox, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out four.
Half the hits off Lively went for extra bases, including homers by Wilyer Abreu in the first inning and Rafael Devers in the third. The right-hander has had an up-and-down beginning to the season, and Lively will take a 4.40 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 23:11 K:BB through 30.2 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come at home next week against the Twins.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Captures first win of 2025
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Lively (1-2) earned the win against the Pirates on Saturday, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out three across 5.1 scoreless innings.
It was the second time in five starts that Lively didn't yield a run this season, and he was two outs shy from logging his first quality start of the year. While he has given up the eighth-most hits in the American League (25), his efforts Saturday lowered his ERA and WHIP to 3.86 and 1.25, respectively, across 25.2 innings.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Blanks White Sox over five innings
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Lively tossed five scoreless innings Tuesday against the White Sox, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out four in the no-decision.
Lively worked around two walks in the first and another jam in the fourth to keep the Sox off the board. It was his second straight start issuing multiple walks, but he was able to keep the ball in the park after allowing a home run in both of his first two outings. With the Guardians playing five games over the next five days, Lively is set to take the bump again versus the Royals this weekend.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Roughed up in loss
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Lively (0-1) took the loss against the Padres on Wednesday, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four batters in 4.1 frames.
Lively got off to a decent start Wednesday, striking out four of the first nine batters he faced. However, things took a turn for the worse in the third inning after four consecutive hits -- capped off by a Jackson Merrill homer -- gave San Diego a 4-0 lead that it would never relinquish. Lively is now up to a 6.75 ERA through his first two starts of the year but should have a decent chance to bounce back in his next outing, which is tentatively scheduled to come next week against the White Sox.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: First spring hiccup
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Lively allowed four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two over 3.2 innings in Sunday's spring start against the Brewers.
Lively breezed through two innings before giving up his first Cactus League home run in the third and more trouble in the fourth. The right-hander had three largely uneventful spring starts before tasting adversity in his fourth outing. He threw 74 pitches (50 strikes) and continues to build up in preparation for the regular season.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Limits damage in spring debut
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Lively allowed one run on five hits and one walk while striking out one over two innings in Sunday's spring game against the Angels.
Lively made his first Cactus League start and allowed much base traffic but managed to stifle the damage to just one run. He threw 23 strikes among his 33 offerings, which was his goal coming in. "All good, just trying to locate everything, not letting it rip all the way," the pitcher told Steve Stockmar of MLB.com. "Felt good to be out there." Lively is coming off his best season in the majors, posting a 3.81 ERA over a career-high 151 regular-season innings. The accumulation of innings was the prominent reason he was left off the ALDS roster last year and limited to the one relief appearance in the ALCS. The right-hander's goal is to prove he has the stamina to be included in any postseason series.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Inks new deal with Guardians
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Lively signed a one-year, $2.25 million deal with the Guardians to avoid arbitration Friday, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Lively was an effective member of the Guardians' rotation in 2024, maintaining a 3.81 ERA with a 118:49 K:BB across 151 innings. He battled some inconsistency due to his contact-heavy approach, but he is a strong candidate to begin the season in the rotation.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Added to ALCS roster
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The Guardians added Lively to their ALCS roster Tuesday.
He's taking the roster spot vacated by Alex Cobb, who is now out for the remainder of the postseason with a back injury. Lively hasn't made an appearance since his final start of the regular season back on Sept. 28, but he's a candidate to make a start during the ALCS in Cobb's place.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Left off ALDS roster
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Lively is not included on the Guardians' roster for the American League Division Series versus Detroit.
Lively was a key part of Cleveland's rotation during the regular season, posting a 3.81 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 118:49 K:BB over 151 innings across 29 starts while going 13-10. He had a few poor starts near the end of the campaign and logged a 4.53 ERA along with a 1.39 WHIP over the final two months, which may have played a part in the decision to leave him off roster for the ALDS. The starting pitchers on Cleveland's ALDS roster include Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb (finger).
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Sharp in 13th win
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Lively (13-9) picked up the win Friday, allowing one run on three hits and a walk over five innings in a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals. He struck out two.
The right-hander looked like he was running out of gas in late August as he set a new career high in innings pitched, but Lively has found a second wind. Over his last three starts, he's given up just one run in 12 innings, and he's won back-to-back outings. On the season, Lively's posted a 3.80 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 114:45 K:BB through 147 innings. With the Guardians on the cusp of clinching the AL Central title, the team could shuffle its rotation ahead of the playoffs, but Lively currently lines up to make his final start of the regular season at home next weekend against the Astros.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Starting Tuesday's game
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Lively will start Tuesday's game against the White Sox, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Joey Cantillo started Monday in what had been Lively's turn, as the Guardians wanted to give Lively some extra rest after he allowed 10 runs over his previous two outings. He'll have a good opportunity to bounce back Tuesday against the feeble White Sox offense.
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Guardians' Ben Lively: Cruises to win Saturday
Rotowire
Lively (11-8) allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk while striking out four over 6.2 innings to earn the win over the Rangers on Saturday.
Lively snapped a three-start winless stretch, riding an explosion of offense from the Guardians to his first win since Aug. 1. He's posted quality starts in three of his five outings this month, allowing 14 runs (13 earned) across 27.1 innings. Lively is now at a 3.62 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 102:41 K:BB through 126.2 innings over 23 starts this year, which has been his best in the majors. His next start is expected to come at home versus the Pirates.
