Cleveland Indians: Bullpen Will Take Pressure Off the Starters in 2017

The Cleveland Indians have five solid bullpen options for Terry Francona to use and take pressure off the starting rotation in 2017.

At the beginning of the 2016 season, the Cleveland Indians appeared to have three very solid relief pitchers in Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw and Jeff Manship. All three were coming off impressive 2015 campaigns and were projected to be the workhorses of the bullpen again.

As the season took shape, Manship did not look like the lights-out arm that posted a 0.92 ERA the previous season and Shaw had a hard time holding leads late in games. While Shaw would slowly get his issues under better control, it was obvious that Tribe manager Terry Francona had been more hesitant with going to Manship.

At the All-Star break, Manship had a solid 2.05 ERA, but had only thrown 26.1 innings. Shaw, at the same time, saw the opposite of Manship. His work was still at the normal amount, with 35.2 innings pitched, but his ERA was at a staggering 4.04.

Since the Indians sat atop the American League Central, it was obvious they needed help in the bullpen. The Indians acquired left-handed relief ace Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline.

Miller’s presence took pressure off Shaw, who would post a 2.32 ERA in the second half. Manship, however, threw just 17 innings in the second half due to the Miller acquisition and the emergence of Dan Otero.

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Manship would go on to sign with Korea’s NC Dinos in January of 2017 after the Indians decided to let the reliever walk. On February 2, the Indians signed veteran left-hander Boone Logan to a one-year, $6.5 million contact with the Indians with a 2018 club option.

Logan’s .142/.222/.255 slash line by left-handed hitters in 2016 is what attracted the Indians. Since Miller can and will be used versus any and all hitters, the Indians wanted to add a lefty specialist to the bullpen.

With that signing, the Indians have built a five-headed monster in their bullpen. Otero, Logan, Miller, Shaw, and Allen will be waiting for when opponents manage to knock one of the Indians’ five high-end starting pitchers out of the game.

Not only will this pitching staff be menacing for opposing teams, but it will be beneficial for the Tribe’s starters.

Corey Kluber threw 215 innings in the regular season, and then 34.1 innings in the postseason, both well above average. While these numbers are inflated due to the injuries of Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco, the impressive selection of bullpen pitchers the Indians have built will help chip off innings each game for Kluber.

This will be the same for the other four starters. Francona will no longer have to squeeze one more inning out of his starters. Instead, he can afford to turn a game over to the bullpen in the fifth or sixth innings without having to worry about pitching depth. This will be especially helpful for Carrasco and Salazar, who are recovering from injuries.

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Less innings equals more gas left for the playoffs and a lowered chance of injury. Since the Indians starting pitching is the most impressive part of the team, it was wise of the front office to bring in a strong supporting bullpen to take pressure off them.