Cleveland Indians Place Danny Salazar on the Disabled List

Cleveland Indians Place Danny Salazar on the Disabled List with Right Elbow Inflammation

The Cleveland Indians have announced that Danny Salazar has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sore elbow. He had an MRI on the ailing right arm this morning and the good news is that it revealed no structural damage and he’s expected to miss just two to three weeks.

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Salazar was rocked in his last start Monday night allowing six runs in just two innings of work. Since the beginning of July (five starts), Salazar has posted an ugly 7.88 ERA. Opponents have also hit .337 with a .967 OPS during that span. Salazar finished the month of June with a league-low 2.22 ERA and was of course named to his first All-Star team. However, he was not available to pitch in that game due to arm soreness. Salazar also missed a start earlier in the season due to fatigue in his right arm so this has been a recurring, and scary, trend.

The fact that the MRI did not show any structural damage is huge, though. No surgery or any long term (for now) effects gives hope that he should be able to come back and regain his dominance from the first half of the season. The Tribe will need that if they want to make a World Series run.

Replacing Salazar on the roster today was newly added outfielder Brandon Guyer. The Indians acquired Guyer from the Tampa Bay Rays just before yesterday’s trade deadline to bolster their lineup versus left-handed pitching. Replacing Salazar in the rotation will be Mike Clevinger, who will make the start Thursday in the series finale against the Minnesota Twins.

Clevinger will join the Indians and be activated before the start. It will be his fourth big league start and fifth appearance. In 16 1/3 innings, he’s 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA. With the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, however, he’s been much better going 11-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 17 starts.

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No word as of yet on who will lose their roster spot for Clevinger though a relief pitcher such as Cody Anderson or Austin Adams seems likely as the bullpen currently sits at eight. Another option could be Abraham Almonte as the Tribe now has five outfielders on the roster with the addition of Guyer.