Cleveland Indians: Danny Salazar making rehab start with Mahoning Valley

Danny Salazar is making yet another rehab start as he continues his quest to return to the Cleveland Indians’ starting rotation in 2017.

Cleveland Indians fans following Danny Salazar‘s progress are noticing a trend that isn’t instilling much confidence.

He is making his third rehab start tonight and has gone down yet another level, as he is pitching with the Single-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers tonight after starts with Akron and Columbus.

It is almost a shocking turnaround for Salazar to be pitching in Mahoning Valley on the night of the All-Star Game after being selected to the event just one year ago.

He has struggled in his first two rehab starts, making tonight a great test for him. Pitching against this level of competition should mean Salazar can go a few innings without giving up any runs, or at least any home runs.

He is coming off two starts in which he didn’t do much to help his team win.

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Tonight’s start would ideally be the last rehab start he has to make before returning to the rotation, but if he struggles in this level it will be hard to rationalize putting him back in the major league rotation. Some fans are calling for Josh Tomlin to be replaced, but Salazar doesn’t look like a better option right now.

Even if Salazar has a good outing tonight, he hasn’t done enough to warrant taking the job of one of the five starters already in Cleveland.

His absence has allowed Mike Clevinger to shine and seize a spot in the rotation, leaving Tomlin as the only one who may be in danger of losing his job.

So while it is nice for Salazar to get some game action tonight, the final results won’t matter much. He appears to be healthy, meaning the team won’t know what they have until he makes a start at the MLB level.

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It’s just a matter of whether the front office wants to risk messing up the rhythm of the rotation by inserting Salazar in the midst of a pennant race.