The 2018 Cleveland Indians bullpen looks to once again be a formidable group with one of the only remaining questions being who will take up the last couple spots.
The Cleveland Indians had one of the greatest bullpens of all time last year, and many of the same names will be returning to the pen in 2018. The notable subtractions are Bryan Shaw who signed with the Colorado Rockies for three years and $27 million and Joe Smith who signed for two years and $15 million with the reigning world champion Houston Astros. The Indians will have to find a way to make up for their lost production in 2018.
The majority of the bullpen is already set. The back-end of this bullpen will consist of the two relief aces, Cody Allen and Andrew Miller. Following these two will be some combination of Nick Goody, Tyler Olsen, Dan Otero, and Zach McAllister. These four middle relievers will be the ones responsible for picking up the slack left by Shaw and Smith. The decision still to be made is how the Indians will fill the last spot or two in this pen. There are many options in camp that they could decide to go with, but I have narrowed it down to three real possibilities that could begin the season in the opening day bullpen.
Cleveland Indians: Matt Belisle
Matt Belisle is a long time major league veteran reliever. After a successful run with the Rockies, Belisle remains capable of holding down a role in a major league bullpen even this late in his career.
Averaging just under 50 innings per year the last three seasons, Belisle has performed better than league average during that span. Belisle has been a durable, above-average reliever every year since 2010.
Belisle wasn’t outstanding last season, but he was a solid contributor for the resurgent Twins and even served as their closer down the stretch after the club traded away Brandon Kintzler. Belisle also recorded his highest strikeout rate since 2010. However, he did benefit from a career high, 15.6% pop up rate and the lowest of his career. Belisle was somewhat lucky in 2017 which might have masked a bit of a decline for the 37-year-old.
Belisle relies on a low 90s fastball and mid 80s slider to produce an adequate amount strikeouts and groundballs. The Indians should be able to count on Belisle to be an average small leverage reliever for them in 2018. He may not be the flashiest guy to fill out the roster, but for a team with as much talent as the Cleveland Indians, a little certainty might not be the worst idea.