Cleveland Indians: Signing Matt Belisle is a good move

The Cleveland Indians haven’t done much all winter, but now that it’s springtime, the Tribe’s front office has signed Matt Belisle.

The pitching staff is generally viewed as the strength of this team. With a dominant rotation and a lights out bullpen, they couldn’t be beat. But then this past offseason hit, and two of the Tribe’s best relievers in Joe Smith and Bryan Shaw signed with new teams. Those were two important set up guys for closer Cody Allen.

Heading into spring training, it appeared Andrew Miller would be the only veteran setup option for the Indians. Not anymore. It’s been reported that the Indians have signed veteran Matt Belisle to a minor league deal.

The 37 year old Belisle has been around the league for awhile, spending most of his career with the Colorado Rockies. Last year, he was with the division rival Twins, but as Heyman noted, handled some closing duties for them last year. But he mostly served in an eighth inning role.

And that is exactly what the Cleveland Indians could use right now. Someone with veteran experience in the back end of their bullpen to get the game to Cody Allen.

What has Belisle done lately?

Belisle pitched to a 4.03 ERA last year and part of that could be attributed to a sharp increase in walks allowed. Over his career, Belisle has been pretty good at limiting walks, averaging two walks per nine or less in seven of the past 10 seasons.

But he also posted a nice increase in strikeouts last year, posting an 8.1 K/9, the second highest of his career.

In Washington in 2016, Belisle posted a 1.67 ERA over 46 innings and in 2015 with St. Louis, he finished with a 2.67 ERA. So the recent success is there and being surrounded by a great cast in Cleveland should help boost his success.

Outside of Cody Allen and Andrew Miller, the Cleveland Indians would have been very inexperienced in the back end of the bullpen. Nick Goody and Tyler Olson are very good young arms and could very well succeed in that situation if left alone, but bringing in a veteran like Belisle on a very cheap contract is a smart move by the Indians front office.

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There are plenty of players with veteran bullpen experience in camp for the Indians this year, but Belisle figures to have the best chance of them all to make the team. He’s coming off a decent year, and despite his age, has proven he can still pitch at the highest level.