Cleveland Indians Send Trevor Bauer to Bullpen

By Eric Roseberry | Mar 31, 2016

Oct 1, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (47) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer will begin the season in the bullpen, but another chance to start could be a possibility.

On Wednesday the Cleveland Indians announced that Trevor Bauer would start the season in the bullpen. Bauer was competing for one of the two final spots in Cleveland’s Opening Day rotation. Ryan Lewis notes that Cody Anderson and Josh Tomlin are expected to be the Indians’ fourth and fifth starters. According to Terry Francona Bauer did not take the news well.

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Bauer, who the Arizona Diamondbacks chose with the third pick of the 2011 draft, has always been viewed as a high-ceiling pitcher. For three straight years (2011-2013) he was ranked as a top-100 prospect by Baseball America. He made his big league debut with the Diamondbacks in 2012. However, Arizona sent him to Cleveland the following offseason in a three-team deal that returned Didi Gregorius.

Since his arrival, Bauer’s control has been his main struggle. In his first full season in Cleveland he racked up 3.53 BB/9. That increased to 4.04 BB/9 a season ago. Chad Young of Fangraphs notes, “When Bauer walks people, he pitches poorly. When he doesn’t, he doesn’t pitch poorly.” While that seems like simplistic analysis, for Bauer it’s absolutely true. One other concern from last season was a spike in the number of home runs he allowed. His HR/FB rate jumped to 11.7%.

A year ago Michael Beller looked at Bauer’s repertoire, and showed that he has three plus pitches at his disposal. Bauer’s “stuff” and potential are good enough that Cleveland will give him as many chances as possible. If he pitches well out of the bullpen he will definitely get another shot at starting this season.

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Even if Bauer never develops the needed command to be a starter, Cleveland could try and give him a second life as a reliever. There have been a number of notable pitchers over the past few seasons, Wade Davis being the best example, who have transitioned from underwhelming starter to elite reliever. Cleveland likely still has hopes that Bauer can be a regular fixture in the rotation, but at this point they’re willing to try anything to get value from the 25-year-old.

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