After being pulled after just three innings last night, the Indians have placed Corey Kluber on the 10 Day DL with a sore lower back today and recalled Joe Colon from AAA Columbus. This comes a day after placing Austin Jackson on the DL with a toe problem and bringing up Shawn Armstrong, the Indians first player lost to the DL since the regular season started. On the surface, the moves may seem strange. Lose a platoon center fielder, bring up a reliever. Lose a starting pitcher, bring up a reliever. However, over the long term, it all makes sense.
First, the change from the 15 day DL to a 10 day DL is huge for situations like this. Without an actual injury, Kluber just needs rest and the 10 day DL means he will really only likely miss one start. With a roster spot free for 10 days and a starter only needed for one of those days, it makes sense to replace Kluber immediately with a reliever. The move to replace Jackson with a reliever isn’t as obvious, but worked out perfectly as Armstrong was used for 2.2 innings in his first game back.
It was this use of Armstrong that really necessitated the recall of Colon. Armstrong won’t be able to pitch Tuesday night, but certainly doesn’t deserve a demotion after two straight brilliant appearances. This move allows him to stay with the team to help out later this week.
As for the second half of the Armstrong move, the Indians simply don’t believe they have a strong right handed option to play center in Jackson’s stead and will go with Abraham Almonte instead. This leaves the team with an outfield of Michael Brantley, Almonte and Brandon Guyer against left handers and Brantley, Lonnie Chisenhall and Almonte against righties. This does leave the bench a bit weak and doesn’t solve any defensive issues, but recalling Tyler Naquin wouldn’t have solved either problem and obviously they don’t believe Bradley Zimmer is ready yet. Like Kluber, Jackson should be back immediately after his ten days are up, so the Indians don’t need a long term fix just yet.
As far as Kluber’s spot in the rotation is concerned, a lack of off days before his next turn in the rotation will necessitate another roster move before Sunday. My guess is that Colon will be optioned back to Columbus for Mike Clevinger, who pitched on Monday and has been unhittable in AAA for two seasons now. Who is sent down for Clevinger could obviously change based on who pitches Saturday against Kansas City and any other injuries, but there are plenty of reasons to keep Armstrong over Colon.
Once the start Sunday is made, the Indians could keep Clevinger in case he is needed in relief the next time Trevor Bauer or Josh Tomlin pitches after him or they could send him back to AAA. If they do, they could get another reliever (probably Kyle Crockett) and keep the pen at 9, or they could wait until before the game on May 12th and recall Jackson from the DL.
Because of an off-day on May 11th, both Jackson and Kluber could return to the team after missing only nine games and Kluber could be reinserted into the rotation right where he was removed, after Bauer, by making the start on May 13th. It’s all a part of a master plan, and who are we to question Chernoff’s plan?
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