Ben Lively, come on down (up?)! The next member of the Cleveland Guardians' rotation could be on the way

It sure looks as though that free agent addition, Ben Lively, is going to head up I-71 to take, at least for now, Shane Bieber's spot in the rotation.

As it stands now, the Guardians will need a starter for Sunday's game against the Yankees. With Lively having pitched Tuesday for Columbus, he appears to be the most likely candidate to slot into the parent club's rotation this weekend.

Lively, conceivably, would have made the rotation out of camp had it not been for an illness towards the end of spring training, which hit both him and Xzavion Curry (Curry is probably second-in-line to get the call). Lively signed a one-year major league deal this past offseason, following a two-year stint in the Reds' organization.

Through two starts with the Clippers, Lively has two starts, 8.1 IP, 5 Hits, 4 SO, 1 HR, and 3 earned runs. Good, but not great.

Last season, Lively made 12 starts and appeared in an additional seven games out of the pen. In his first 11 starts, Lively was serviceable, going 3-5 with 61.2 IP, allowing 59 Hits, 17 BB, 60 SO, and a 3.94 ERA. He did allow 13 home runs in those first 11 starts as well. His final start was abysmal, lasting only four innings and allowing 13 earned runs on four home runs.

If Lively can more closely resemble the starter from his first 11 starts, then things should be okay. Righting the ship until others - like Gavin Williams or Joey Cantillo get healthy will be key. On the flip side, if he resembles that guy from his final start of 2023, then watch out.

The Guardians have a ton of questions about their rotation, and rightfully so. Stabilizing things so that others can get healthy will be of the utmost importance - and play a big role in the team's success this season.