Cleveland Indians Provide a Few Key Updates
With Opening Day this Friday for the Cleveland Indians, there is plenty of news surrounding the team. Currently, the organization is focused on preparing for the season and tuning up the Opening Day roster. Here are some important updates from Tuesday.
Starting Rotation News
First, the Indians have come to a determination on their starting rotation. Zack Meisel of The Athletic had that news on Twitter.
Adam Plutko will start the season in the bullpen. The Indians’ rotation will go Bieber, Clevinger, Carrasco, Civale, Plesac.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) July 21, 2020
As a team, Cleveland possesses a lot of starting pitching depth. The question wasn’t necessarily at the top of the rotation, but rather the back end. Furthermore, Adam Plutko was sort of in a limbo situation going into the season. Over his three-year big league career, Plutko has made 32 starts over 40 games.
With Plutko transitioning to the bullpen, it helps to solidify things for Cleveland. The Indians are without Emmanuel Clase after he was suspended. Furthermore, the bullpen could benefit from having a long man like Plutko. It’s not often that teams have the luxury of having lots of starting pitching depth like the Indians.
Both Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac broke out in a big way in 2019. Civale posted a 2.34 ERA over ten starts with an ERA+ of 202 and a 7.2 K/9 rate. Meanwhile, Plesac was called up at the end of May and did quite well in high leverage situations. In those situations, the right-hander held opposing batters to a .208/.269/.292 slash line.
News Regarding the Name Change
Zack Meisel also reported that the Indians had a team meeting Tuesday.
Indians had a meeting today – players, front office, Terry Francona, Paul Dolan – in which they had an open forum to voice their opinions about the team’s name change.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) July 21, 2020
Recall that a few weeks ago the Indians came out publicly saying they would consider changing their name. Of course, this all stemmed from the racial issues going on around the country. Also, Cleveland realized that as an organization it needs to embrace diversity. By gathering the input of members throughout the organization, it’s a step in the right direction.
Regardless, it’s likely going to be some time before it happens. Furthermore, the process is probably going to be long and complicated.
Injury News Regarding a Member of the Outfield
Additionally, Mandy Bell, who covers the Indians for MLB.com, had injury news regarding Tyler Naquin.
Tyler Naquin was scratched from tonight's intrasquad lineup with a right big toe contusion after fouling a ball off his foot in last night's exhibition game against the Pirates.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) July 21, 2020
Going into this season, Naquin was viewed as a depth option in left field. Naquin is coming off a 2019 season in which he was sidelined with a right knee ACL tear. The tear ended Naquin’s season in early June. Right now, the hope is that the injury keeps him day-to-day.
However, if it lingers and turn into something long-term, Cleveland has depth to overcome it. Other options in left field include Jordan Luplow, Oscar Mercado, Greg Allen, and Jake Bauers.
The final exhibition game takes place Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. After that, the Cleveland Indians open the 2020 season at home on Friday against the Kansas City Royals.
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