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Terry Francona has been in this position before. This isn’t the first time the Cleveland Indians manager has been questioned for his reliance on a shaky reliever.
Back in 2013, late in his first season with the team, Francona had a closer in Chris Perez who was proving unreliable. The Tribe was making a playoff push and needed every win it could get. Unfortunately, Perez just wasn’t getting the job done in the ninth.
A particularly terrible outing against the Chicago White Sox was the final straw. Though the Indians came back and won, Perez went to Francona and asked to be pulled from the position of closer, claiming he didn’t want to cost the team any more games.
It certainly seems as though Francona is living through the same situation this season with setup man Bryan Shaw. While he claims he’s not going to stop leaning on Shaw despite some recent terrible outings, it’s getting to the point where Francona has to consider using someone else in the eighth.
In Shaw’s defense, he had gone five straight appearances without giving up a run coming into last week. He struggled mightily earlier in the year, but seemed to be settling down.
However, things changed last Thursday against the Seattle Mariners. Coming into the eighth working with a three-run lead, Shaw gave up a home run, single and a walk before getting yanked. Cleveland still won, but the same can’t be said for his next two appearances.
He was brought on in the ninth Saturday night against the Los Angeles Angels, with his team having just scored three runs to tie the game in dramatic fashion the half-inning beforehand. Any hopes of a comeback win were dashed when Shaw only managed one out before the Angels scored the game-winning run.
The story was no different last night. Clinging to a one-run lead against a Kansas City Royals team gunning to unseat Cleveland from first place, Shaw was brought in to pitch in the eighth again. Yet again, he couldn’t get the job done, giving up a two-run homer to Salvador Perez and handing the Tribe a crucial loss.
To be fair, last night was not entirely his fault. A Jose Ramirez bobble erased what should’ve been a simple ground-out, meaning Shaw shouldn’t have even had to face Perez. At the same time, the L hangs next to Shaw’s name for the second straight appearance.
For what it’s worth, Francona isn’t interested in changing things up when it comes to his setup man, reiterating this fact last night.
“I don’t want an alternative,” said Francona. “I just said he went like 24 innings without giving up an earned run. Now he’s had three (bad) outings. That would not be a smart move on my part.”
Again, Francona is correct. Shaw had been settling down coming into this slump. Still, there’s been enough evidence that the reliever is just not as reliable as he needs to be.
How can you feel comfortable sending him out in the eighth with a small lead? Opposing hitters’ eyes must light up when they see him trot out from the bullpen.
Additionally, when the Indians are clinging to a tight lead, do they feel confident Shaw can hold it? He has a 22.50 ERA across his last three appearances, giving up six hits and two home runs. Obviously that’s not the line of a pitcher I’d want in a high-leverage situation.
As a result, Shaw needs to be replaced.
I’m not saying he needs to be benched completely. Francona would be wise to give him some work in lopsided games or in a different inning. Just something to help him regain his confidence in lower pressure. Right now, an important appearance late in a tight game just seems to shake Shaw’s confidence.
Francona may say he’s not making any changes and that Shaw is still his setup man. However, if these bad performances keep piling up, this support will wane. The Indians finally look like a playoff contender, and having a pitcher consistently derailing wins isn’t going to help the cause.
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