Cleveland Baseball Insider

Cleveland Guardians Sign Ben Lively To Major League Contract

The 31-year-old right-hander signs with Cleveland after making 19 appearances (12 starts) with the Cincinnati Reds this season.

Logan Potosky

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This offseason, the Cleveland Guardians have made multiple roster transactions related to their 40-man roster’s pitching staff.

These include trading Cal Quantrill to the Colorado Rockies and trading Enyel De Los Santos to the San Diego Padres for Scott Barlow.

Now, another pitcher has been added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster.

On Tuesday, the Guardians announced that they have signed right-handed pitcher Ben Lively to a Major League contract.

Per The Athletic’s Zack Meisel, it is a one-year deal worth $750,000.

This season, after being promoted from Triple-A Louisville on May 9, Lively pitched in 19 games (12 starts) for the Cincinnati Reds, going 4-7 with a 5.38 ERA, 79 strikeouts, 1.36 WHIP, and .270 opposing batting average.

The 31-year-old has pitched four MLB seasons, going 8-17 with a 5.05 ERA, 159 strikeouts, 1.41 WHIP, and .280 opposing batting average in 45 games (32 starts).

Jul 26, 2023; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Ben Lively (59) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning at American Family Field / © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Lively was a fourth-round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft by the Reds out of the University of Central Florida. After two Minor League seasons, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in December of 2014 for outfielder Marlon Byrd and cash.

The right-hander eventually made his Major League debut with Philadelphia in 2017. Late in the 2018 season, he was designated for assignment and claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Royals.

Lively made just six relief appearances for Kansas City before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks the following June. After not making any Major League appearances with Arizona, he was released in August.

Lively then pitched for three seasons with the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). 

In 36 starts, he went 10-12 with a 4.14 ERA, 191 strikeouts, 1.17 WHIP, one complete game, and one shutout. Eventually, Lively signed a minor league contract with the Reds in January of 2022.

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Logan Potosky
LOGAN POTOSKY

Logan Potosky is an aspiring play-by-play sports broadcaster who, to date, has called approximately 350+ hours of professional, college, and high school sporting events. He is currently the Play-by-Play Broadcaster for the Lake County Captains, the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. He graduated from John Carroll University in May of 2023 with a degree in Communication, with a concentration in Digital Media, and a minor in Entrepreneurship.

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