Cleveland Indians: What to make of Corey Kluber’s injury

The worst-case scenario has happened as the Cleveland Indians find themselves scrambling for a fifth starter for what could be several months.

I couldn’t believe it when I saw it, I can’t believe it now that it’s official. Cleveland Indians ace Corey Kluber is heading to the 10-Day DL. Rest assured, he will be out much much longer than 10 days. We don’t even know if he will pitch again this year.

I’m not superstitious, I don’t believe in curses. But if I did I would say the 2019 Cleveland Indians are cursed. Okay, it’s not all doom and gloom, but with the offense already in a rut, this will be a challenging period for the Tribe.

So let’s start at the top. Trevor Bauer is the ace of this pitching staff now. He’s played like it all season and now he has the chance to carry the load. Carlos Carrasco and Shane Bieber will continue their roles, but this is a chance for Bieber to really step it up. Then we have Jefry Rodriguez.

Think about how bad this situation would be had the Indians not traded Yan Gomes in the offseason for Rodriguez.  But now the Indians need a fifth starter. We don’t know who that will be. Danny Salazar and Adam Plutko are still injured. Mike Clevinger won’t be back until at least June.

Cody Anderson seems like the most plausible choice. Regardless of who the Indians call upon, they’re going to be facing the biggest test they’ve faced in years. Life without Corey Kluber is going to stink.

The last three years now the Indians have been faced with a starter going down for an extended period of time. Kluber in 2017 and Carrasco in 2018 both saw the Indians bring someone from the minor leagues. But we haven’t seen them have to send two starters down for multiple months while the offense is already slumping.

May could be a very long month for the Indians. Let’s hope they can just hang tight in the division.