Cleveland Indians: Josh Tomlin’s injury puts pressure on the rotation

The Cleveland Indians are back to a five-man rotation with the news of Josh Tomlin being out for nearly the remainder of the season.

The talk of a six-man rotation for the Cleveland Indians died quickly when it was announced Josh Tomlin‘s hamstring injury was worse than expected.

Now that he is out until nearly the end of the regular season, the five men who remain in the rotation seem to be set in their roles for the remainder of the season.

As of right now, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, Trevor Bauer, Danny Salazar and Josh Tomlin have started all but one game for the Indians this season. Ryan Merritt is the only other pitcher to receive a start.

By choosing not to trade for Sonny Gray or Yu Darvish, or any starting pitcher for that matter, the Indians seemed content with pushing forward with the current group. And it made sense, as a nine-game win streak saw everyone playing their best.

Then Tomlin got hurt. That was followed by a second consecutive awful outing by Clevinger, which was followed by Carrasco’s worst start of the season. Bad starts will happen, but they especially stand out right after the trade deadline.

Yet no one should be worried about Carrasco at this point. He has shown himself to be the second option on this team, right behind the great Corey Kluber. Behind those two was Clevinger as of a week ago, but he may be leveling out after allowing a combined ten earned runs in his last two starts.

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Bauer is coming off his best start of the season, while Salazar has been lights out in his two starts since returning from an injury. But this is not enough to claim both are back in a big way.

Basically, fans don’t know what to expect as the rotation has already gone through so many ups and downs this season. But with Tomlin down and no one brought in via trade, the pressure falls upon those already here, specifically Bauer and Clevinger at the backend of the rotation.

There aren’t any reinforcements to bring up in case one goes through a rough stretch, although Merritt may be given a chance if anyone has a Tomlin-esque collapse that was seen one year ago.

Andrew Miller‘s absence puts even more pressure on all the starters, as a bad outing could lead to the bullpen being decimated with very few off days left this season. The go-to guy is gone, meaning it’ll be harder for Terry Francona to pull his starter with confidence that the guy he is bringing in will come in and go a strong inning-plus.

There is always pressure on every player on a contending team, but the five members of the starting rotation must step up in a big way over the next two months. Starts like Carrasco’s on Tuesday night can’t happen often, and a few of those from Bauer or Clevinger could cause a shakeup in the rotation when stability is needed.

Next: Takeaways from the two games in Boston

The Indians could also make a waiver trade before the month is over, which could become a realistic option if it becomes clear there is a weak spot in the rotation.