Cleveland Indians: Breaking down the Opening Day bullpen

The Cleveland Indians’ bullpen is set for Opening Day, so let’s take a look at each member of what should be one of the most dominant bullpens in baseball.

The Cleveland Indians entered the year with a solid foundation in the bullpen. The likes of Andrew Miller, Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw are the big names in the group, but the other members of the group aren’t too bad themselves.

The offseason addition of Boone Logan helps bolster the bullpen, showing fans that the front office is committed to filling every need on the team as it pursues that elusive World Series championship.

The national focus will be on Miller throughout the year, as some fans may expect the bullpen ace to throw multiple innings in each outing and repeat his postseason success. However, that is just not possible during the course of the 162-game regular season. There may be some outings when he goes more than one inning, but if he does he will not be ready to go the next day.

He also doesn’t need to go multiple innings during the regular season, as there is a strong group behind him in the bullpen. Also, a healthy starting rotation should mean less work for the bullpen, given the group’s anticipated success comes to fruition.

The Indians bullpen should end up being one of the most dominant in all of baseball, and should remain rather consistent throughout the year, barring any injuries. Let’s take a look at the seven members of the bullpen, and what to expect from each player in 2017.

Zach McAllister

Zach McAllister will be entering his third full season as a member of the bullpen, and is coming off a solid 2016 season.

He only appeared in 53 games, starting two of those, and struck out 54 batters. His 23 walks are a bit high for a reliever only appearing in 52.1 innings, but he did well limiting runs throughout the year.

He allowed three or more runs in three of his appearances, but that is expected for any reliever throughout the course of a season. And two of those came in a span of four days in July, so perhaps he was just in a minor slump of sorts.

But entering 2017, McAllister is in a similar role to Armstrong, although he may be just ahead of the latter in terms of an imagined depth chart.

He can come in and eat up innings, while also being an option to provide long-relief if a starter leaves early or is just having a bad game.

The 6-foot-6 right-hander gives the Indians a hard-throwing threat in the middle of games, and he too can turn into a matchup guy if he can get his walks down. Yet for now, he will continue to serve that middle relief role, and be someone who can go multiple innings, setting up the stage for the big names to come in and get the job done at the end of games.

Boone Logan

The Indians entered the offseason with perhaps the best left-handed reliever in the game, but he needed some help. The addition of Boone Logan should provide more than enough help.

Logan comes over from the Colorado Rockies, where he has been for the past three seasons. He appeared in 66 games in 2016, logging 46.1 innings and finishing with a 3.69 ERA. That may seem high, but remember that he pitched in what is notoriously the worst park for pitchers in baseball out in Colorado.

He now comes to Cleveland where it is a bit more pitcher-friendly. His role will primarily focus on being a matchup guy, coming in to get out one or two lefties at a time, thus saving Andrew Miller’s arm for a longer appearance in any given game.

This role was evident during his time in Colorado, as he frequently logged less than an entire inning of work in his appearances.

His presence in Cleveland is great news for Indians fans, as it saves Miller for the most important situation of a game, as opposed to bringing him in just for a good matchup earlier in games. He can still do this, but Logan is qualified to get an out or two when a lefty is needed.

He can also pitch late in games, giving the Indians another dominant option throughout the regular season, as the trio of Miller, Allen and Shaw can’t pitch everyday.

Logan’s signing was a clear sign that the front office is committed to chasing a title, so it will be fun to see if his role evolves at all in 2017.

Dan Otero

With all the talk of the main bullpen trio, Dan Otero seemed to be a forgotten man in the 2016 postseason. He did make six postseason appearances, but only one came in a close game, a win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Otero didn’t do bad in the postseason, yet his lack of a memorable outing may be due to the fact that so much focus was put on Miller, Allen and Shaw throughout the playoffs. He gave the Indians a dominant fourth option, but just wasn’t needed in high-leverage situations.

Otero came to Cleveland after three seasons in Oakland and turned himself into the unsung hero of the bullpen. He appeared in 62 games, striking out 57 batters and only walking 10 in 70.2 innings pitched. Not too bad.

He enters 2017 as the fourth option once again, and may see his role increase if he keeps up the dominant work. He may be able to take Bryan Shaw’s setup spot if Shaw struggles throughout the year. This may cause fans to rejoice, yet it would take some time to happen.

For now, Otero remains someone who can set up the setup guys, and do so in an efficient manner. Improving upon his 0.906 WHIP won’t be easy, but he is coming off a career year and is on arguably the best team in baseball, so the confidence will be there.

Bryan Shaw

Personally, I don’t understand the fan hatred toward Bryan Shaw. Yes, he has had some epic collapses, but he is reliable more often than not.

Shaw appeared in 75 games for the Indians in 2016, and only had three terrible regular season outings. Two of these came in April, so perhaps the bad vibes stuck with some fans throughout the year.

But whether fans like it or not, Shaw remains one of the go-to relievers for Terry Francona in 2017. He has appeared in at least 70 games in each of the past four seasons, and that should not change this year.

He will continue to be part of Francona’s go-to trio, and will frequently be seen in the seventh and eighth inning of games throughout the year. He did allow 28 walks last season, which could be a problem for him if Otero continues to rarely allow one.

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But at the start of the year, Shaw will retain his usual setup role. It is up to a player like Otero to challenge for that spot, but it would require Shaw to blow several games in a row for Francona to really consider a change.

After appearing in 11 of the team’s 15 postseason games in 2016, expect to once again see a lot of Shaw in 2017. And don’t waste energy on hating him, because when he does well you don’t want to be the one negative person in the room not enjoying the moment.

Cody Allen

Cody Allen handled Andrew Miller’s 2016 addition in perfect fashion. He made it clear that he was all about helping the team, and would pitch whenever he was needed.

That is the kind of player fans want to cheer for, although it does help that Allen is a dominant reliever.

2017 will be Allen’s sixth year with the Indians, and he is coming off a 2016 campaign in which he had 32 saves in 67 appearances, striking out 87 batters in 68 innings.

And even though Miller is on the team, Allen still projects to be the team’s traditional closer throughout the 2017 season. Miller is more flexible as to when he can come in, yet Allen seems to thrive when he has the mindset of closing out a game.

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In 10 postseason appearances, he finished eight games, finishing with six saves. He serves as a great complement to Miller, who may be needed at what is considered the most important part of a game, while Allen can close it out.

Allen nearly had 100 strikeouts in 2015, and he will hopefully reach that mark once again this season. The added depth in the bullpen, and a strong offense, should allow for many games in which the team enters the end of the game with a lead, leaving a defeated opposing lineup to try to get past one of the better relievers in the American League.

Andrew Miller

There isn’t much to say about Andrew Miller that hasn’t already been said. He is the best reliever in baseball and should continue to hold that crown in 2017.

The difference this year is that he will be here for an entire season, thus meaning he will have a few bad outings throughout the course of the season. Some fans may panic, but it doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the best in the game.

Miller appeared in 26 regular season games for the Indians in 2016, finishing with a 0.552 WHIP while striking out 46 batters and walking just two batters. He only improved upon that with 30 postseason strikeouts in 19.1 innings of work.

As stated throughout this piece, fans cannot expect Miller to go multiple innings all throughout the season. He did so in seven of his 10 postseason appearances, but it was out of necessity after all the injuries.

He is going to enter the year as the do-it-all reliever, being saved for high-leverage situations when the game could be won or lost at that very moment. He has proven that he can come in at any time, and has embraced that role. Having a star without an ego is a great thing for both the team and its fans.

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This entire group is going to be a special one in 2017, and will serve as a great complement to what could be the best starting rotation in all of baseball.