Cleveland Indians should consider moving Trevor Bauer to the bullpen

With the departure of a couple of big arms from the bullpen, the Cleveland Indians should consider moving Trevor Bauer from the rotation to the bullpen.

I know most people reading that headline are probably scratching their heads or rolling their eyes (or both). Why would the Cleveland Indians move Trevor Bauer to the bullpen after the year he had in the rotation? It’s a very fair question.

Bauer had his best season of career in 2017 going 17-9 with a 4.19 ERA. He threw over 175 innings for the third straight year as well and struck out 10 per nine innings. So why on earth would the Indians move him to the bullpen?

We’ve seen the last few years that the game is changing. Fewer starters are going 200 innings and bullpens have become a much, much bigger part of the game. Teams are focusing not just on having a great closer, but multiple big arms or “bullpen aces” in the backend of bullpens.

The Indians have been one of those teams with the likes of Cody Allen, Andrew Miller and Bryan Shaw in the back of the bullpen the last two years. However, as we know, the Indians have now lost Shaw to free agency and also lost midseason addition, Joe Smith, as well.

The Indians, for the first time in a while, have some real question marks in that bullpen. They do still have Allen and Miller but both are free agents themselves after 2018. Tyler Olson and Nick Goody were two big surprises in 2017 and hopefully can build on their seasons and help out in the bullpen, and the Tribe does still have veterans Zach McAllister and Dan Otero, but as far as elite arms the Indians could be hurting sooner rather than later.

This is where Bauer to the bullpen comes in. Bauer is still very valuable as a starting pitcher. He posted a 2.7 fWAR in 2016 and a 3.2 mark this past year. However, he’s only posted a FIP (fielding independent pitching) below four twice and never below the 3.88 mark he had in 2017. That’s not a bad mark by any stretch but it’s not top of the rotation stuff. His career has been good but not great as well with a career 4.36 ERA and 4.15 FIP.

In the bullpen though, Bauer’s stuff and numbers would likely play up. He’s had some issues with control (though nothing bad) and his increased strikeout rate we saw in 2017 would likely only get even better in the bullpen. But the biggest reason I’d consider moving Bauer to the ‘pen is to utilize him in a way we haven’t quite seen, at least not recently.

I’d use Bauer like Bryan Shaw was used but I wouldn’t limit him to just one inning. Throw him 80 (or more) times a year but allow him to go one, two or maybe even three innings at a time. Sound crazy? Sound impossible? Maybe it is, but I guarantee Bauer would be somewhat excited by the prospect of throwing 100 to 120 innings as a reliever and pitching every day.

I mean, he’s stated multiple times he’d pitch every day if he could and feels the “normal” four days of rest is really too much.

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Now, saying you want to pitch every day or on short rest all the time is different than doing it and succeeding. Bauer didn’t look the crispest in his second playoff start this year on short rest, though he didn’t allow an earned run.

He has done well in the ‘pen on short rest, however, most notably in 2016 when he pitched five shutout innings in that marathon extra-inning game in Toronto.

The Cleveland Indians also have the starting pitching to allow Bauer to move to the bullpen.

Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco would, of course, remain at the top of the rotation with Danny Salazar, Josh Tomlin, and Mike Clevinger filling out the rest of the rotation. They still have left-hander Ryan Merritt as a potential depth option as well.

Now, all of this said, I do not expect the Cleveland Indians to move Trevor Bauer to the bullpen. There have been some whispers the Tribe could consider Salazar in the bullpen to help, especially with the injury history of his or maybe even a guy like Clevinger. Both of those two were in the bullpen in the Divisional Series this past season.

However, Salazar was an All-Star starting pitcher in 2016 while Clevinger had a lower ERA and FIP than Bauer this past year. An argument can be made that both guys are better starting pitchers than Bauer and both should get shots at the rotation first.

Bauer is younger than both pitchers and has had more sustained success but his success hasn’t been as great as one might think. In fact, his career as a starting pitcher looks more like Zach McAllister’s career as a starting pitcher than that of a front or even mid-rotation starter.

Again though, Trevor Bauer improved in 2017, there is no question there. His spike in strikeout-rate was huge and he is a guy that always is able to grab the ball and go out on the mound.

However, he’s the type of guy that can grab the ball 80-plus times a year and possibly throw 100 or more innings out of the bullpen and that could be even bigger for the club. I do not believe it’s a stretch that he could be a two to three win pitcher out of the bullpen, which is what he’s been in the rotation.

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So what do you think, should the Cleveland Indians entertain the idea of Trevor Bauer to the bullpen? Or is he too valuable in the rotation? Let us know in the comments below.