Cleveland Indians: The under-the-radar piece in the bullpen

The Cleveland Indians have plenty of stars on the roster in 2018, but there are some names that may be flying under the radar at the start of the season.

Cleveland Indians fans have seen some of the team’s stars falter under the lights in October the past two seasons. Everyone can’t all be great at once, but that is why it is important to have a roster filled with 25 players who can step up and do great things.

David Schoenfield recently wrote an article on ESPN.com detailing one player from each MLB team that doesn’t get talked about enough. His choice for the Indians was Dan Otero.

From the article:

"His ERAs the past five seasons: 1.38, 2.28, 6.75, 1.53, 2.85. He had 46 bad innings for the A’s in 2015, which is how the Indians were able to get him for nothing, but at some point, we have to believe he’s the real deal, even despite the middling fastball and low strikeout rate. With the departure of Bryan Shaw in free agency, Otero could see a more vital role in 2018."

It is hard to argue with this take because Otero has become the forgotten man in the bullpen. Everyone talks about the dynamic duo of Cody Allen and Andrew Miller, along with the rising stocks of Tyler Olson and Nick Goody.

Otero is the veteran who has been the constant since arriving in 2016, appearing in 114 games in his time with the Indians. He has an ERA of 2.14 with the team, although he has only appeared in six postseason games the past two years. None of those came in 2017, but that can be blamed on the early exit.

As Schoenfield states, Otero may be relied upon to play a much bigger role in 2018 now that both Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith are playing elsewhere. Otero was the fourth option out of the bullpen in 2016, so he will be set to return to a similar role or even more if he continues at his usual pace.

The emergence of both Olson and Goody will add some competition, while Zach McAllister could also add himself to the conversation of being the third option behind Miller and Allen.

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Otero has been consistent enough the past two seasons to where his name doesn’t come up often, which is a good thing for a reliever. But his potential big role in 2018 could change that and have fans calling for him to enter games late. If he does assume Shaw’s former role, hopefully those who used to hate Shaw don’t transfer that to Otero.