Cleveland announced Tuesday it has placed the right-hander on the 10-day injured list with an upper back strain, and it sounds like he could spend two months on the shelf.
Manager Terry Francona told reporters Clevinger has been instructed not to pick up a ball for six to eight weeks, so he’ll end up missing most of the first half of the season even in the best-case scenario.
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Clevinger left his start Sunday after five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. Through 12 innings this season he has 22 strikeouts while allowing no runs and just two hits.
The 28-year-old told reporters Sunday his early exit wasn’t a big deal.
“It was precautionary more than anything,” Clevinger told reporters, via Cleveland.com. “My back was getting tight and I didn’t want it to pull on any part of my arm.”
Fortunately for the Indians, the team has one of the deepest staffs in all of baseball with Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer being likely Cy Young candidates and Carlos Carrasco and Shane Bieber as two of the best No. 3 and No. 5 starters in all of MLB.
Unfortunately, Kluber is off to a rough start with a 5.23 ERA in two appearances and his velocity is a bit down as well over the last two years. Add that to Carrasco allowing 16 hits in two starts and the rotation might not look as good as many thought it might before the start of the season.
Cleveland should be able to absorb a few bad starts and injuries due to the quality of its competition in the American League Central. It’s just a matter of how long it can handle the injuries to pitchers if the offense doesn’t get going.
Through Monday, the Indians ranked 26th in MLB with 30 runs scored in nine games (3.33 runs per game).
The Indians currently sit in second place in their division with a 6-3 record.
