Cleveland Indians: Danny Salazar may be out of the rotation soon

The Cleveland Indians have one too many starting pitchers on the roster, and Danny Salazar may be the first one to lose a starting job.

The Cleveland Indians dropped a third straight game Saturday afternoon, this time with Danny Salazar on the mound.

Salazar only allowed three earned runs in 5.1 innings of work, but he was already at 102 pitches at that point in the game. His five walks didn’t help.

This most recent performance wasn’t too alarming in any sense, but Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com seemed to suggest a demotion could be coming for Salazar.

The need for a move comes with the news that Corey Kluber is set to start Thursday’s game against the Oakland Athletics upon his return from the disabled list.

One option would be to send Mike Clevinger back to Columbus, but the young starter has arguably been the team’s second-best starter in his four starts this season. So, at least according to Hoynes, the intention seems to keep Clevinger on the roster to see what he can do in a more permanent role.

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It is easy to question why Salazar may be headed to the bullpen instead of Josh Tomlin or Trevor Bauer, but the answer may lie in the fact that Salazar is the most capable bullpen pitcher of the three.

He leads the starting staff with 73 strikeouts, but is unable to go deep into games due to his hits and walks allowed. His 1.59 WHIP ranks last among the starters.

A move to the bullpen doesn’t mean Salazar is permanently out of the rotation. In fact, it may put more pressure on Tomlin and Bauer to succeed.

Because if Salazar can figure out his command and Clevinger succeeds in a starting role, it may be Tomlin or Bauer losing a job and not even getting a chance to join this dominant bullpen.

Changes are going to continue to happen until players step up and prove they deserve a full-time job. In the midst of a title chase, no one is ensured a full-time job if another player proves to be worthy of a chance. Well, Edwin Encarnacion may be immune to this, for now.

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The best-case scenario is that the entire starting rotation turns it around, while Salazar becomes a key piece in the bullpen. He obviously wants to remain a starter, but a change of roles could perhaps spark a new path for his career.