Cleveland Indians' Trevor Bauer Has Earned His Starting Job Back

The Cleveland Indians made quite a strange move when they finalized their starting rotation before the beginning of the season. Instead of leaving either veteran Josh Tomlin or up-and-comer Cody Anderson as the odd man out as many expected, Cleveland kept both as starters. To make room, the Tribe sent Trevor Bauer to the bullpen.

Many were confused to see Bauer, who’s been a starter with the team since 2013, get demoted to the pen. While he wasn’t seen as the team’s ace, he was one of the steadier hands in the rotation more often than not, at least to the point everyone assumed his job wasn’t up for grabs.

Just a month into the season, an injury and some under-performance within the rotation have led to Bauer finding himself starting again. If the Indians were smart, they’d leave him where he is from here on out. Bauer has indeed earned his job back.

He was thrust back into the rotation after Carlos Carrasco suffered a hamstring injury a couple weeks ago. While the injury was unfortunate, it gave Bauer a chance to prove he doesn’t belong in the bullpen. For the most part, he’s been successful.

While Bauer hasn’t been consistently shutting opponents down, he’s at least limiting the damage. In his last three starts, he hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs. While this isn’t exactly Cy Young material, it’s enough to give the offense a chance to win.

Bauer’s usual red flags still occasionally pop up. His control can disappear on him here and there. While he’s trimmed his walks down a bit, there will still be an inning or two per night where he works up the pitch count more than you’d like.

Still, when he has nights like last night, a dominant shutout against the Houston Astros, he reminds you why everyone was so shocked to see him sent to the bullpen. Bauer had every one of his pitches working for him in Houston, and more games like that will certainly keep him in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

He should also remain in the rotation because, quite frankly, his main competition has struggled mightily.

Seen by more than a few as the man who snatched up Bauer’s starting job, Anderson has had a rough go of it this season. After allowing two runs in his first start of the year, he was tagged for five in each of his next three appearances. A second-chance given this past weekend against the Kansas City Royals resulted in more of the same, as Anderson allowed four runs before exiting the game with leg cramps.

With that in mind, Bauer’s job should be more than secure even when Carrasco returns from injury. While having his moments here and there, he’s proven much more reliable than Anderson. For this alone, he should keep the fifth spot in the rotation.