Finding #4 and #5 In Rotation Is Tribe’s Newest Issue

When you trade three starting pitchers the caliber of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Mike Clevinger since the middle of the 2019 season, it stands to reason there will be a void in your starting pitching.

That’s where the Cleveland Indians are today.

When the Tribe had that trio in their rotation, along with Shane Bieber, and prospects like Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale in the pipeline, there was a comfort among fans and we would guess the coaching staff. They had a chance to win each and every game.

They thought coming into the 2021 season they had the pieces in place for another good rotation. Triston McKenzie showed promise last season, albeit in a shortened season, and Logan Allen went to Goodyear and won a spot in the Opening Day rotation.

However, remember that McKenzie didn’t pitch at all in the 2019 season, so he is very inexperienced, and Allen was a good prospect, but that’s all. He’s still a rookie.

Allen started out fine, pitching five innings in each of his first two starts, but he couldn’t get out of the third inning in each of his next three starts and was sent to Columbus, where it hasn’t been pretty. He’s pitched 11-2/3 innings, allowing 19 runs in three starts.

McKenzie simply couldn’t throw strikes. He’s walked 30 hitters in 31-1/3 frames with Cleveland this year, and his lack of control comes suddenly. In his last start Friday night before he was send to Columbus, the 23-year-old righty sailed through the first three innings, allowing one run. In the fourth, he started walking everyone in sight.

Outside of his second start, a four inning stint against the White Sox in which he walked two, McKenzie walked three or more in every other start, and he went no more than five innings in any of those outings.

The struggles of the four and five spots in the rotation put a lot of pressure on Bieber, Plesac, and Civale to pitch well and pitch deep into games when they start to keep the Tribe in the race for a post-season spot. They won’t acknowledge that, they will simply say they go out and do their job every fifth day.

So, where does Terry Francona and the front office go from here? Is there another Plesac or Civale, who seemingly comes out of nowhere to fill the last two slots in the rotation?

Young, 24-year-old Sam Hentges has started twice and had extended outings in two others, with mixed results. His first start was a 4-2/3 outing vs. the Cubs, in which he held them off the scoreboard, but walked four, running his pitch count up so he couldn’t complete five innings.

He will get another opportunity against Detroit this week.

Will another rookie, Jean Carlos Mejia get a start this week? He made his major league debut Friday, pitching 2-1/3 innings, striking out five. But, he has pitched just 11 innings over the Class A level in his career, meaning no one knows what he will do when he has to go out there every fifth day.

At Columbus, there is Kirk McCarty, a soon to be 26-year-old southpaw who is 3-0, 2.66 ERA, 14 K’s, 5 walks in 23 innings, but he has also not pitched above Class A before this season.

Eli Morgan is a 25-year-old right-hander who has experience in AA ball, and is 0-1 with a 3.95 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 13 innings this season. He has walked eight though, but his minor league career doesn’t indicate wildness.

Another lefty, Scott Moss, has been bandied about over the last two seasons, but left his last start with a hand issue. So, he’s probably not a candidate.

If the Indians are going to stay in the race for a post-season spot, finding someone who can give them quality innings after Bieber, Plesac, and Civale is critical. We would doubt that any kind of deal is coming either, that’s not the organization’s style.

The number of off days is dwindling, so Francona and Carl Willis have to find some answers. The comfort level of knowing you have a chance to win every day is gone.

Lack Of Scoring Puts Tribe On Razor’s Edge

It is still early, very early in the 2021 Major League Baseball season. We still are just a middle past the middle of April, and the Cleveland Indians have only played 14 games, less than 10% of its schedule.

However, for many, including ourselves, who were concerned about the ability of Terry Francona’s squad to score runs, the trepidation is real.

Through the first 15 games, the Indians rank dead last in the American League in scoring. This current trip. which has included six games, have the Tribe tallying 14 runs, and two of those occurred in the ten inning win over Chicago last Tuesday, when the dumb MLB rules people gave Cleveland a runner on second to start the inning.

Wednesday night, they were no hit by Chicago’s Carlos Rodon in a game were their plate appearance got progressively worse as the night moved on.

Cleveland is last in the AL in on base percentage, 9th in slugging (mainly because they are 3rd in the league in home runs), last in batting average, and second last in OPS+.

Without a doubt, they are one of the worst offenses in the game to date.

In their 14 contests, they have scored two runs or less six times, three runs or less eight times, and four runs or less in all but three games. ‘Keep in mind, the average team in the Junior Circuit scores 4.5 runs in a game.

When you score that few runs, the other parts of your game have to be perfect. Your pitchers can’t have bad outings, and the Tribe had two of them (Zach Plesac and Logan Allen) this week. You can’t make defensive mistakes, which have cost Cleveland in both games in Cincinnati. You can’t make baserunning errors either, like Eddie Rosario’s in the 8th inning yesterday.

The entire team is living on the edge right now.

We felt going into the season, Francona had four, maybe five solid hitters in his lineup. When two of them are going through tough periods, like Cesar Hernandez and Jose Ramirez went through at the beginning of the trip, that means you have two or three hitters contributing.

That simply doesn’t cut it.

The front office had an entire season to find a centerfielder after Oscar Mercado lost the job, and they still haven’t found one. They seem to be trying to give the job to Amed Rosario, a converted shortstop who is more of platoon piece (he hits southpaws very well), and started the year using Ben Gamel there as well.

They seem hesitant to give Jordan Luplow, who also hammers lefties, a shot at a full time job out there, although the former Pirate didn’t have huge platoon splits in the minors.

The best thing you can say about the offense is they generally put the ball in play.

Former Tribe skipper Mike Hargrove used to say something to the effect of if you have a good leadoff hitter and a cleanup hitter, your lineup takes shape on its own. Right now, the Indians have no one who should hit first, except Hernandez, who has told Francona he doesn’t like hitting first.

He leads the team in walks with eight, and has a career .351 on base average.

They really don’t have a true #4 hitter either. Franmil Reyes is too streaky at this point in his career, and Eddie Rosario isn’t bad, but ideally should hit fifth or sixth.

That means Francona is left with putting together a puzzle every night, and that makes his job very difficult.

Where can the offense come from? That’s the million dollar question. Yes, there are alternatives in the minors, but we don’t a big impact will come from there.

Perhaps a change in approach by Francona? Maybe the team can be more aggressive on the basepaths, more steals, more hit and runs? They don’t strikeout, so the latter might be a plan.

The Indians have to start putting together a way to score more often, otherwise, the margin for error for this baseball team will continue to be very thin.

Still Questions For Tribe: Rotation and CF

Spring training is getting down to the nitty gritty. The regular season commences a week from tomorrow in Detroit and the Cleveland Indians still have questions in the starting rotation and in centerfield.

Coming into camp, the favorites for the last two spots in the rotation seemed to be rookie Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill, who came over in the Mike Clevinger deal at the deadline last season.

However, things in baseball don’t always work out like you want them.

Both McKenzie and Quantrill have struggled in Arizona, and Terry Francona and pitching coaches Carl Willis and Ruben Neibla might be thinking of going in a different direction.

McKenzie, who has only thrown 39 innings in the past two seasons combined, has walked 10 hitters and allowed seven home runs in 14-1/3 frames. True, it is spring training, the ball tends to fly in Arizona, and the righty might be working on pitches, but those aren’t good numbers.

Quantrill has had issues with command all spring too, walking nine in his 11 innings pitched.

Complicating things in a good way has been the performance of southpaw Logan Allen. He’s thrown 9 innings in the desert, allowing just one run and fanning 11. He may have just earned a spot on the big club.

Another complication is that Adam Plutko is out of options. The right-hander has allowed five runs in 8 innings of work, but has struck out nine.

It would not be a shock if Plutko got the baseball in the home opener on April 5th against Kansas City. The others (McKenzie, Quantrill, and Allen) all have options and the way the schedule is set up for the Tribe, they really don’t need a fifth starter until the season’s tenth game, April 13th against the White Sox.

That would also allow Francona to carry an extra bullpen arm for the first week and a half of the season.

Centerfield got a little clearer when Oscar Mercado was sent to the alternative site, leaving Bradley Zimmer, non-roster invitee Ben Gamel, and converted infielder Amed Rosario vying for playing time or to make the roster.

Also, Jordan Luplow has started playing in the Cactus League games, and yesterday started in center.

The front office has to be pulling for Zimmer, a former first round pick. To date, and he has faced pretty experienced pitching, he is 9 for 30, with five walks. He has fanned nine times, which is his biggest issue, not putting the ball in play.

The veteran Gamel, a left-handed hitter like Zimmer, is 7 for 31 (.226). It would seem to be tough for him to beat out Zimmer. Rosario, who would seem to be a platoon option with either Zimmer or Gamel, is 8 for 24 on the spring, and would seem to have a roster spot locked up.

Luplow, who has crushed left-handed pitching since joining the Indians would seem to give Francona, another option in CF, if he wants to give Andres Gimenez a day off against a tough lefty, or an option in RF, should he want to do the same with Josh Naylor.

It is difficult to think the Indians will keep six outfielders, another reason it could be tough for Gamel to hold down a spot.

And don’t forget Harold Ramirez (3 for 18), another right-handed bat, and could be in play as well.

Our prediction here? Zimmer will get the nod against righties, with A. Rosario playing the middle of the outfield vs. southpaws. The possible complication? Cleveland opens in Detroit, and Comerica Park has a huge outfield. Francona might favor defense in the Motor City.