Cleveland Guardians' Top Reliever Dealing with Slight Injury at Outset of Spring Training

Cleveland Guardians' pitchers and catchers are at spring training right now but reliever James Karinchak isn't throwing yet because he's experiencing shoulder fatigue.

Per a report from MLB.com:

Karinchak will be on a slower schedule than the rest of the pitchers and catchers who reported to camp on Feb. 13 due to fatigue in his throwing shoulder. He will not throw for the first few days of workouts, and the team hopes he can begin his throwing program shortly thereafter. (Last updated: Feb. 15)

Alright, so it's not time to panic or anything, but this at least bears monitoring. Karinchak is heavily relied upon in that Guardians' bullpen and they need him to be healthy if they want to surprise people under first-year manager Stephen Vogt.

The 28-year-old made his major league debut in 2019 and has appeared in Major League games in each of the last five years. He appeared in 60 games back in 2021, 38 games in 2022 and 44 games a season ago. Lifetime, he's 12-11 with a 3.10 ERA.

He went 2-5 with a 3.23 in 2023 and serves as one of the set up options for superstar closer Emmanuel Clase.

The Guardians finished third in the American League Central a season ago and are going through a period of transition with Vogt taking over for longtime manager Terry Francona. Furthermore, the Guardians have several young pitchers they are working into prominent roles including Tanner Bibbe and Logan Allen.

The Guardians open the season on March 28 at the Oakland Athletics.