What Would Price and Sale think About This?
The Indians might have the best one-two punch in the AL with Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco.
Kluber is the definition of an Ace, pitching 203 innings last year, his fourth in a row over 200, while posting an AL-leading 2.25 ERA. That was good enough for his second Cy Young in the last four years.
Meanwhile, the fourth-place finisher in the AL Cy Young voting Carrasco also pitched 200 innings. All he did last year was finish with a 3.29 ERA as well as a tie with Kluber for most wins in the AL (18).
There are top-two combinations in the AL that might be as good as Cleveland’s, but none that are better. But after those, the staff gets a lot more pedestrian.
Over-hyped Trevor Bauer has never pitched below a four ERA, while Josh Tomlin almost earned a five last year (4.98). And the delayed Danny Salazar will bring his uninspiring ERA of 4.28 with him when he returns.
That leaves the Tribe with the unpredictable RHP Mike Clevinger to fill in. In his second season, he put up an excellent 3.11 in only 121 IP. But in his first year, his ERA was a not-so-great 5.26. So, which will the team get this year? That kind of question is not what a Super team wants.
The relief core will once again revolve around one of the best set-up men in the game, Andrew Miller, and his 1.44 2017 ERA. That should help Cody Allen get at least another 30 saves this season.
So, there is a lot to like especially as they play in the wreckage that is the AL Central. But they need to maximize their potential now.
Time to Circle the Wagons
And that’s because this is a team already falling apart. First, they let one of their best offensive players go—1B Carlos Santana and his 23 home runs—and replaced him with the ersatz Yonder Alonso. That’s subtraction by subtraction.
Next, both of their top two starters are in their thirties. And Edwin Encarnacion is 35. But the other reason Cleveland is likely spending its last year considered as a Super team is that other teams are and will continue to get better.
The Yankees, for example, added Giancarlo Stanton while the Astros added Gerrit Cole. And both already had more young talent. The latter can also be said of the Red Sox. Likewise, the Twins and Angels are improving and might be willing to add more talent than the Indians in the off-season.
That makes it more imperative that this team wins it all this year than any other in the AL. In the NL, though, the team with that same impetus is the Washington Nationals.