"It Was A Learning Experience:" Cal Quantrill Details Difficult Season With Guardians

Cal Quantrill heads into the offseason healthy after an injury-filled 2023 with the Cleveland Guardians.

The Cleveland Guardians suffered plenty of injuries during the 2023 season. The starting rotation was especially hit hard and Cal Quantrill was a part of this. 

He had two separate stints on the injured list with a shoulder injury that caused him to miss almost half the season when adding it all together. Quantrill was on the Chris Rose Rotation Podcast last week and opened up about his struggles and the time he missed last year.

"Kind of a learning experience for me this year. I've been pretty blessed, I've been pretty healthy my entire professional career. I didn't handle the injury, looking back, as well as I could have. I think I probably let it get too far and it affected both my results and the team's results. Then I wanted to come back so fast that maybe I just didn't give it a chance to fully heal."

Quantrill finished the season with a career-high 5.24 ERA making sporadic starts throughout the season. Still, he had a strong final month of the season when he was fully healthy and posted a 2.76 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in his six starts in the month of September. 

Apr 24, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona relieves starting pitcher Cal Quantrill (47) during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The 28-year-old knows that this was not the season that he or the team envisioned during Spring Training, but wants to take as much away from it as he can. 

"I batted this year. I battled to keep my shoulder where I wanted. I feel pretty good about where I got it and heading into this offseason. But it was a learning experience for me."

Hopefully, everything that Cal retained last year will help him return to form in 2024.