MLB Playoffs: Hard hit! Guardians lose for the rest of the Postseason to essential reliever

The right-handed pitcher Guardians, Nick Sandlinhas been diagnosed with a upper back/shoulder strain and will miss the rest of the postseason. Cleveland will need to trade him for the next round of the Postseason, that is, the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.

The loss of Sandlin is notable for Cleveland, even if the 25-year-old, like much of the Guardians’ roster, is far from a household name. The 2018 second-round pick made his major league debut in 2021, when he pitched 33 2/3 innings with a 2.94 ERA and has had similar success in 2022:

While this year’s strikeout rate of 22.8% and walk rate of 13.3% were a step back from 2021 levels (34% and 12.1%, respectively), Sandlin he also saw his ground ball rate increase from 41.7% to a whopping 55.9%. He pitched 44 innings with a 2.25 ERA out of the Cleveland bullpen, including a brilliant 1.11 ERA and a 26-to-6 K/BB ratio in his last 24 1/3 frames.

You can also read: MLB Playoffs Important Guardians reliever is in doubt for Division Series vs Yankees

The Guardians they have not formally announced the injury, a treatment plan, or a potential timeline, but they are likely to provide more details in the coming days. For now, what’s immediately clear is that his mighty bullpen will take at least a light hit on his AL Division Series date with the Yankees.

Raphael Martinez

I am a fan of the King of Sports, especially the Boston Red Sox in MLB and all Mexican baseball in general. This profession has given me the opportunity to cover major events such as the Caribbean Series, the LMB All Star, the LMP (uninterrupted since 2009), signing important players. I had the chance to attend the 2013 World Classic in Arizona, USA, although as a fan. Apart from this beautiful sport, I love basketball, where I have also narrated games and even an NBA friendly 10 years ago, but I have baseball in my veins. Degree in Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) , from which I graduated in 2011. I was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa and started in the world of sports journalism in 2004 in the newspaper El Sol de Mazatlán, where I was a baseball columnist and a reporter at the same time. In January 2009 I arrived at El Debate as a journalist reporter and it took almost six years (in the first stage), until in November 2014 I emigrated to the radio providing my services at Línea Directa-Grupo RSN. My cycle there ended in July 2019 and a few days later, El Debate gave me another opportunity to work and opened the doors for me again. That is how I came to Al Bat, where I have been since 2019 as a web journalist.

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