Indians eyeing continued pitching success

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Indians have had one of the best rotations in baseball over the last few seasons, but this year they may be relying on their starters more than ever.

The focus of the entire offseason and spring has been centered on the amount of turnover the team has experienced. They lost Michael Brantley, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen to free agency and Yan Gomes and Edwin Encarnacion to trades. But despite the rumors that have been ongoing since the last day of the 2018 season, the starting rotation is the one part of the roster that remained untouched.

“Every day we go out there, I count my blessing because every starting pitcher we run out there, I think is really good,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “I know how I feel when we’re playing another team, like you’re facing somebody and you’re like, ‘Man, we’ve got to be on our game because it’s gonna be tough.’ That’s how it’s got to feel every night [against us].”

There is still so much that’s unknown about the Tribe’s lineup for 2019. The team will obviously need solid seasons from Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez, but who else will play a large role in the rest of the offensive production is yet to be seen. Even if the offense is unproven, Francona feels confident that the team will be successful as long as his rotation of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber stays healthy and intact.

“You can’t win without pitching,” Francona said. “[A hitting-dominant team] might be a fun team to watch, but you can’t get where you want. If you’re short somewhere, it’s gonna get exposed over the course of a long year. But, if you don’t have starting pitching, you’re gonna get exposed way quicker. I mean you’ve got to win 10-9 games sometimes, but not four or fives times a week. That’s too hard to do.”

The plan of attack for the season will likely be riding their starters deep into games, limiting the amount of hands the ball falls in before getting to closer Brad Hand. Oliver Perez and Adam Cimber, depending on who’s batting, will presumably bridge that gap from starter to closer in the eighth inning, but how the rest of the bullpen will piece together this season is still unknown.

“We look great,” Carrasco said. “Bieber, Clevinger, myself, Kluber, all those guys, even Bauer, Bauer is great. But I think we’re still the same guys, we have fun, we go out there and pitch, but we’re one of the best starting rotations in baseball. It’s no secret from anyone. We’ve been proving it for the last three years.”

The Indians starting staff has led all other teams in WAR the past two seasons, but with factors like Bauer’s new changeup and Bieber having a year of experience under his belt, there’s a good chance the rotation could be even better than the previous two years.

In 2018, Kluber logged a 2.89 ERA in 215 innings, Bauer had a 2.21 ERA in 175 1/3 innings, Carrasco posted a 3.38 ERA in 192 frames, Clevinger worked a 3.02 ERA over 200 frames and Bieber had a 4.55 ERA in his 114 2/3 rookie innings. Both the starters and the coaching staff seem eager to see what magic they can create on the mound in '19.

“It’s kind of scary,” Clevinger said. “Just being completely literal, I mean there’s nobody out there that can sit and look at our rotation, especially with the way Bieber’s throwing the ball this spring, I think this is the most dangerous rotation in baseball. So, it should be a fun year."