Guardians starter Aaron Civale headed to injured list with glute tightness

Aaron Civale has been working to escape a significant slump to start the season, the worst stretch of his career. But those efforts to turn things around will be delayed, as Civale is headed to the injured list with left glute tightness.

Through seven starts, Civale has posted a 7.84 ERA. He allowed six earned runs three times in a four-outing stretch, leaving him and the Guardians searching for answers.

Five of Civale's six pitches have been hit hard this season. His curveball (.219 average against) has been the lone outlier and has thus represented his way out of this rut.

The goal has been to use it to set up his other pitches similar to how most pitchers use their fastballs.

"Some guys might throw fastballs to set up a curveball. I can use the curveball to set up other pitches," Civale told reporters in Minnesota. "That's just going to be a cat-and-mouse, a chess game, throughout the rest of the year depending on how much that's used."

But Civale knows that eventually, his cutter or one of the other pitches in his arsenal will have to complement the curveball. Pitching coach Carl Willis said they've been working on the shape of his cutter, hoping to add more depth to it rather than only lateral break.

"I think that has started to improve, and now it's just a matter of the command and getting it to the spot he wants," Willis said. "But the pitch shape itself is getting back to normal, to what we saw last year."

Willis also saw an issue of Civale not getting inside to hitters enough.

"I think it comes down to execution," Willis said. "His ability to get the ball inside, particularly to right-hand hitters to keep them off the stuff that's very, very good and works away from them [is needed] just to keep both halves of the plate open."

Civale appeared to have made some progress on this front. He posted his best start of the year on May 20 against the Detroit Tigers, allowing one run on three hits in 61/3 innings. That progress will now be put on hold as he heads to the injured list.

The Guardians have had a surprising road to where they are. It has been the offense — not the rotation — that has carried the club at times. Civale's struggles have been at the center of the rotation's slow opening to the season.

Left-hander Konnor Pilkington replaced Civale in the rotation Thursday against the Tigers. In 8⅔ innings, Pilkington has allowed two runs on five hits with 11 strikeouts.

Daniel Johnson traded to New York Mets

Outfielder Daniel Johnson repeatedly knocked on the door to the majors but was never able to take advantage of the opportunities afforded to him, even as the Guardians desperately searched for stability in the outfield.

And on Wednesday, his time with the Guardians came to an end when he was dealt to the New York Mets for cash considerations.

In 35 games at the major league level, Johnson hit .202 with four home runs, five RBIs and 32 strikeouts. This season at Triple-A, he hit .217 with a .594 OPS.

Johnson, 26, does possess an above-average arm from the outfield and will now get a change of scenery.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Aaron Civale, working to turn around slow start, headed to injured list