The Guardians plan to recall Nikhazy from Triple-A Columbus to have him start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader with the Red Sox, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
EDGE Analysis
After optioning reliever Zak Kent to Triple-A, Cleveland initially planed to call up Nikhazy on Friday to fill the open spot in its bullpen. However, after Friday's series opener was postponed, Nikhazy's call-up will instead be pushed back a day, and he'll now be in line to start in his MLB debut due to the doubleheader creating a stretch of six games in five days for the Guardians. The 25-year-old lefty had excelled through his first four starts with Columbus this season, logging a 3.44 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 22:7 K:BB in 18.1 innings. Cleveland doesn't appear to have a permanent opening in the rotation for Nikhazy, so he could shift to the bullpen or head back to Triple-A following his start Saturday.