Cleveland Indians: Josh Tomlin makes what could be his final start

Cleveland Indians fans have watched Josh Tomlin pitch for nearly a decade. He looked good Thursday night in what could be his final start with the team.

A benefit of clinching the division so early is that the Cleveland Indians are able to mess around with the starting rotation a bit to make sure the top starters are lining up perfectly for the playoffs.

That explains why Josh Tomlin got the start Thursday night.

Tomlin starting in the final series of the season isn’t too newsworthy unless you consider the fact it may be his final start with the team. It may even have been his final appearance with the Indians depending on whether he makes the postseason roster.

In true unpredictable Tomlin form, he went out and had a decent game, even while sporting his 6.14 ERA. He did allow a home run, causing fans to roll their eyes, but it was the only run he allowed in 4.2 innings of work.

He gave his team a chance to win. The problem was the offense leaving 10 men on-base over the course of the entire game.

Tomlin’s career with the Indians has been an interesting one. He has only started more than 16 games three times in his career. The first time came back in 2011, then he was a regular starter in both 2016 and 2017.

As up and down as he was, he did throw three innings of scoreless baseball in relief in last year’s ALDS. He also appeared in three victories back in the 2016 postseason before things fell apart for him in Game 6 of the World Series, although that outing wasn’t entirely his fault.

The veteran pitcher is a free agent at the end of the season and I just don’t see how the team brings him back. The only way would be on a minor league deal, but even then it may be better to see how the younger arms can pitch in Columbus rather than have Tomlin eat up innings.

I do think he could land on a rebuilding team looking for a veteran to fill a spot, regardless of how he performs, on a one or two-year deal. There is just no reason why this powerhouse Indians team would bring him back.

I have always liked Josh Tomlin and it was awesome to see him provide some unexpected heroics in the past few postseasons. But considering the starting rotation is set and the fact he doesn’t have dominant stuff coming out of the bullpen, it may be time to move on.