Guardians notes: RHP Gavin Williams shut down after experiencing soreness in right elbow following simulated game

CLEVELAND — Optimism has turned to pessimism for Gavin Williams and the Guardians. The right-hander, who threw a simulated game Saturday in Goodyear, Arizona, experienced soreness at the back of his elbow following the outing and will be shut down for at least a week. Williams received an anti-inflammatory injection Wednesday night. "They're hoping that at the end of the seven days he can resume throwing and not fall too far back," manager Stephen Vogt said of Williams, who sustained the injury shortly into spring training and was forced to begin the season on the injured list. "Just trying to cover all the bases and be as cautious as possible." Elbow injuries have been prevalent for starting pitchers to begin the year, with Cleveland already losing ace Shane Bieber for the season to Tommy John surgery. "All we can control is today," Vogt said. "We keep getting punched. Every team right now is getting punched. It's not exclusive to us, but all we can control is the 26 guys who are here tonight — go out, compete and take care of what we can today and then we'll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. "We feel for our boys, we feel for our teammates. It does take a hit, and that's OK for you to feel a little down in the dumps when things like this happen. But all we can control is what we can do today, and that's the message that we continue to say." + Right-hander Eli Morgan (right shoulder inflammation) threw a bullpen session Tuesday. "He's feeling good," Vogt said of Morgan, who has posted a 2.16 ERA over nine appearances. "So, that's a good sign that he's starting to feel stronger and getting back in the right direction." Together forever Vogt is grateful for the roster he inherited in his first year as a MLB manager. "I say it all the time, Tito left me an unbelievable group and I couldn't be more thankful for that," he said. "Now, it's just doubling down on what they do well and that is their tenacity, that is their resilience, and they just don't quit. And that's the mark of a good team." Much of the position player core, including Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan, has been together since 2021. "It helps when you have consistency with your team," Vogt said. "It's not always a bunch of guys that don't know each other well, trying to mold all the time. There is that familiarity with each other, but there's the belief that they all know they can get it done, no matter who's called on. We're playing everybody. We trust all 13 guys to get the job done. It's a different guy every night, and that's what really good teams do." Cleveland is one of only two teams in the American League which has employed the same 13 position players who began the season on the 26-man roster. "It is huge when you have the same group of guys that can keep going and we feel good about the guys who will be coming when something does happen," Vogt said. I think the way this group loves each other, they're going to embrace whoever walks through that door, but these 13 guys have gotten very close." We all live Starting pitcher Ben Lively has made an interesting choice when it comes to his warm-up music — the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine." "I don't really like pump-up songs. I get overly pumped up, I feel like," Lively said. "And I watched a movie recently and it was just kind of funny and kind of stuck with me and I like it. It's funny. Who doesn't like the Beatles?" Lively, who doesn't possess elite stuff, has been impressive over his first two starts in place of Bieber, allowing three earned runs and striking out 14 over 11⅓ innings. "I've been the same pitcher my whole life and I don't overpower you, but I'm going to throw it over the plate and put movement on it and, 'here you go,'" he said. "I'll act like I throw a 100 (mph), but I don't." Lively, 32, spent 2½ years pitching in Korea before returning to the majors last year and making 12 starts (19 appearances) for the Reds. He was drafted by Cleveland in 2010 but did not sign. "Ben comes up and he dominates and that's what we're looking for right now, to just win games," center fielder Tyler Freeman said. "He's filling in a spot right now and he's filling it very well." Roundin' third The Guardians ranked 29th in the majors with a .381 slugging percentage, but have shown some power early, owning MLB's sixth-highest slugging percentage (.411) through Tuesday. … Kyle Manzardo is on a tear for Triple-A Columbus, entering Wednesday batting .390 (16-for-41) with four of his five homers on the season over his last 10 games. Overall, the first baseman was hitting .304 with a 1.002 OPS and 12 RBIs in 19 games through Tuesday. … Thursday, 1:10 p.m. BSGL; WTAM 1100-AM. McKenzie (2-2, 5.00) vs. TBA. Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on Twitter.