Cleveland Indians: One final start for Danny Salazar to prove himself

The Cleveland Indians already have a set three-man rotation for the postseason, but Danny Salazar could make things interesting Wednesday night.

Cleveland Indians fans know that Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer are slotted in as the top three in the postseason rotation.

Past that anything is possible, such as another bullpen day. But with Mike Clevinger in the bullpen, it seems that Josh Tomlin is set to take that fourth starter spot if Terry Francona goes that route, regardless of how upset fans are about his start on Tuesday night.

What about Danny Salazar? He moved to the bullpen earlier this month, but is making a start tonight to try to prove his value to the team. Can one good start make a difference?

Salazar figures to be headed for a spot in the bullpen if he does make the roster, yet Clevinger taking up one of those spots may mean that role is already taken.

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Clevinger, Cody Allen, Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw, Tyler Olson and Joe Smith are locks, while Nick Goody and Dan Otero will also likely be chosen. And after Salazar has struggled with injuries all year, there may be no room for him among that group.

Our own Matt Bretz made the argument that the Indians should leave Tomlin off the ALDS roster in favor of running with a three-man rotation, and that could open up a spot for Salazar.

That could also open a spot for another position player, such as a Greg Allen or Abraham Almonte, as Terry Francona could benefit from a late-game pinch-runner.

Tonight’s start by Salazar comes after he lasted just 2.2 innings in his last outing against the Los Angeles Angels, allowing one run and two hits on just 54 pitches. It was his first start since September 5, when he allowed four runs in just 0.2 innings of work.

Next: Outfield injury updates

Baseball is not a game where decisions are made after just one outing, so don’t expect much to change whether Salazar does good or bad tonight. He seems to be either one of the final names to make it in the bullpen, or destined to sit out in favor of Clevinger taking that long-relief flamethrower role.