Cleveland Indians: Breaking down the 2018 Opening Day bullpen

The Cleveland Indians lost both Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith to free agency, but the bullpen is shaping up to be dominant once again in 2018.

Some Cleveland Indians fans spent years hating on Bryan Shaw and then the moment he left those same people declared the bullpen in need of improvement.

My brain hurts thinking about it.

The subtractions of both Shaw and Joe Smith were notable happenings this offseason, but the Indians still have six members of the 2017 bullpen returning in 2018.

Then there is Matt Belisle, who earned the seventh spot after coming over from the Minnesota Twins. Perhaps he has some trade secrets to share.

The only real competition for any of the spots came between Belisle and Carlos Torres, as the possibility of either Danny Salazar or Ryan Merritt heading to the bullpen is being delayed until both are healthy. Well, Merritt may be let go once he is off the disabled list.

As with the rest of the roster, the group that starts the year in the bullpen may not be the exact group that appears in October. However, it would be hard to predict many changes given how solid this group has been in the recent past.

Let’s break down the seven men who will open the year in the bullpen. Hopefully none of them end up taking on the hate that was directed toward Shaw in the past.