Cleveland Indians: Danny Salazar makes case for making ALDS roster

The Cleveland Indians have some tough roster decisions to make this week before the postseason begins, but Danny Salazar may have earned himself a spot Wednesday night.

Just yesterday Cleveland Indians fans were wondering if there was a place for Danny Salazar on the postseason roster. It’s hard to say there isn’t room after his start on Wednesday night.

Salazar came out firing, striking out nine batters in just 4.2 innings of work. He threw 48 strikes compared to just 16 balls and looked like his old self.

Salazar has had several starts like this in 2017. He comes back with great velocity and looks like the pitcher who made the All-Star Game in 2016, but something always comes up to ruin his momentum.

The situation is different now because he can go to the bullpen for the postseason. His time on the mound will be limited and he won’t be needed to throw in the upper 90s for six or seven innings.

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In fact, Wednesday’s game may have been a preview of what is to come in the postseason. Salazar was relieved by Mike Clevinger, who went a scoreless 1.1 innings in relief.

He was followed by Andrew Miller, Joe Smith and finally Cody Allen to close out the game.

Given Salazar makes the postseason roster as a reliever, we could see this combination often in October if a starter struggles or even if Terry Francona wants to roll with his bullpen a majority of the time as he did a year ago.

Having a team face Salazar and Clevinger back-to-back in a matter of a few innings will be a nightmare for opposing teams, given Salazar’s velocity remains where it was Wednesday night.

The other option would be for Salazar to make it as the fourth starter, but it seems he could add more value out of the bullpen, similar to why Clevinger was put there. Adding both starters to the bullpen may cause players like Dan Otero and Zach McAllister to be left off the postseason roster, but there is no loss of value in that swap.

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Salazar proved the doubters, including myself, wrong Wednesday night and looked like the dominant pitcher fans know he can be when healthy. It is not wise to base decisions off one game, but it would be shocking if Salazar was left off the postseason roster after seeing the stuff he had in what hopefully isn’t his final game of the season.