Cleveland Indians: Danny Salazar hit with another setback

Cleveland Indians pitcher Danny Salazar was recently sent to the bullpen, and will now head to the disabled list after suffering some soreness.

The Cleveland Indians aren’t off to a great start to the 2017 season, but things aren’t going horribly either.

A 29-26 record heading into tonight’s game comes after a start in which injuries have been frequent, and players have been shuffled in and out for the first two months of the season.

Perhaps the most interesting situation is that of Danny Salazar, who was projected to be a key piece in the Indians’ starting rotation this season. But a bad start saw him move to the bullpen, and news coming from the team today only furthered the rough start.

At least Lonnie is back!

The injury doesn’t appear to be serious and may help give Salazar some more time to figure out just what has gone wrong this season.

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After compiling a 4.34 ERA in April, Salazar had a 6.94 ERA in the month of May, allowing 18 earned runs in just 23.1 innings of work.

His strikeout total dropped from 42 to 31 while he walked 14 batters, the same as in April.

The move to the bullpen doesn’t seem to be permanent, but great outings by Mike Clevinger, Trevor Bauer, and Josh Tomlin will make it difficult for Terry Francona to decide when is right to bring back Salazar.

If all three pitch equally, it may be Clevinger leaving, but another rough stretch from Salazar would make it hard to keep him in the rotation if the team remains a contender as the season progresses.

While Salazar continues to work toward a return, the Indians will move forth without him as Clevinger remains in the rotation. He faces a big test tonight against the Colorado Rockies, who currently own one of the best records in baseball at 36-23.

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He is looking to seize the opportunity given to him, and shutting down this Rockies team at a horrible park for pitchers would go a long way in staking a claim for a full-time role.

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