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Over the last week or two, the Cleveland Indians have emerged from the jumbled mess that is the AL Central. Not long ago, the division had four teams that could only be separated by a game or two in the standings, but the Indians have climbed out of the pack and taken a three-game lead in the division. Cleveland’s starting rotation has been a catalyst for the Indians reaching first place; however, concerns linger about the back end of the team’s bullpen, which has been their biggest weakness thus far in 2016.
To be fair, the Indians have a solid bullpen that’s middle of the pack in the American League, but whether it’ll be enough to complement one of the best rotations in baseball and help carry them to a division championship remains to be seen. After all, the second place Kansas City Royals have reached the World Series the past two seasons on the back of a dominant bullpen, and the Indians don’t appear to have a unit that can match up.
Obviously, it all starts with closer Cody Allen, who has been fine this season, converting 14-of-16 save opportunities. However, his ERA is a modest 3.23, which doesn’t exactly make him one of the game’s elite closers. Two of Cleveland’s top setup men, Bryan Shaw and Zach McAllister, have also been unimpressive. Shaw has a 5.14 ERA and two blown saves, while McAllister has a solid but unspectacular 3.47 ERA. That’s not the kind of performance playoff-caliber teams should expect from the back end of their bullpen.
The Indians do have relievers like Dan Otero and Joba Chamberlain who are having strong seasons far above what their track records show. However, neither holds a prominent role in Cleveland’s bullpen at the moment. Unless the team changes the pecking order, neither pitcher will end up making a huge impact this season.
At the moment, it may not be a huge concern for the Indians, but to this point in the season the back end of Cleveland’s bullpen has been no better than average, which could be a problem in the long run.
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