For a brief moment, it appeared that the Cleveland Guardians were going to have a tough time replacing Ben Lively. The Guardians announced on Friday that Lively would undergo Tommy John surgery, with a lengthy return timeline somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-16 months.

Ben Lively had a career year in 2024 and looked to be building on that in 2025. But elbow surgery will derail that progress, as his season is done.

Ben Lively has been a revelation for the Cleveland Guardians since joining the team last season, as he helped steady their shaky pitching staff in 2024 and had been terrific this year up until landing on the 15-day injured list.