Guardians and Triston McKenzie avoid arbitration, agree to $1.95 million salary for 2025

The starting rotation of the Cleveland Guardians is an area that should get some extra attention this offseason, considering the rotating cast of characters who took the mound last season. While there should be an expectation that external options are explored, the Guardians appear willing to give one of their own another shot at making an impact in the majors.

Triston McKenzie and the Cleveland Guardians agreed to terms on a $1.95 million salary for the 2025 season on Thursday, avoiding arbitration. Not only does this lock someone into their roster plans, but it also allows both parties to steer clear of a process that can become quite ugly. With McKenzie's history, the relationship between himself and the organization could be completely destroyed.

McKenzie has not been consistent during his time in the majors, and injuries sustained along the way have not helped matters. It has become incredibly difficult to depend on McKenzie as a reliable arm in the rotation due to both of these factors, and these could have been used against him if the two sides were unable to agree on a salary for the upcoming season and went to arbitration.

The 2024 season was particularly difficult for McKenzie and the Guardians. While the 27-year-old right-hander was able to avoid an injury, he was far from reliable on the mound. With a 5.11 ERA, 1.559 WHIP, and 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings, these were some of, if not the worst marks of his career. Due to his lack of effectiveness, the Guardians demoted McKenzie down to Triple-A Columbus in an attempt for him to get right, but it was not successful.

McKenzie struggled with the Clippers, somehow posting worse numbers in Triple-A than the majors. With a 5.23 ERA and 1.631 WHIP, McKenzie was not able to pitch well enough to be brought back to the big league roster. The only area that McKenzie improved in was strikeouts (9.1 K/9), but that is to be expected somewhat, going from facing major league hitters to minor leaguers.

There is no doubt that McKenzie will be feeling quite a bit of pressure to be an arm the Guardians can rely upon this season. McKenzie has only been an above-average pitcher in two of his five years in the majors, and one of those was the abbreviated 2020 season, which can and probably should have an asterisk of some type attached to it. Anyway, if McKenzie continues to struggle in the rotation or in the bullpen, it would not be a surprise if 2025 ends up being his last with the Guardians.