Unfortunately for Salazar, he didn’t come out of it completely healthy. He felt pain in his groin in the first inning and it got worse as the game continued.
“We’re gonna check it out tomorrow and see how bad it is,” Salazar said. “I don’t think it’s something really bad. It happened to me in Arizona, like, two months ago. I didn’t feel it after until today.”
Salazar missed the entire 2018 season after reporting to Spring Training with a sore right shoulder. He eventually had season-ending surgery in July.
The Indians’ rotation took a hit this week when they traded Trevor Bauer to the Reds, but they can overcome the loss of Salazar if he misses time due to injury.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Saturday. If all goes well, he’ll begin a rehab stint in the minors and could return to the big leagues later this month.
Kluber is still a few weeks away, which means the Indians would likely have to dip into their minor league system to find a fifth starter. Aaron Civale is more than capable of sliding in and making a few starts for the Tribe. The 24-year-old is 4-1 with a 2.13 ERA in eight starts for Triple-A Columbus.
No, the Indians never expected Salazar to replace Bauer. No one in the organization was depending on him to save the season. He is coming off of shoulder surgery and hadn’t pitched in the big leagues in 661 days.
The Indians knew this was a long shot. Salazar coming back and starting on Thursday was an experiment. The groin issue may not be serious and he could return to the mound, but if he doesn’t, it won’t define the Indians season.
It may sound silly, especially when the Indians went 18-6 in the month of July, but they need to find a way to keep their head above water over the next few weeks. The rotation has its’ question marks, especially with the Bauer trade. The schedule is much tougher this month. They don’t play a team with a losing record until August 23.
The Angels, Rangers, Twins, Red Sox, Yankees and Mets are up next, which means the next few weeks could derail the Indians’ season if they can’t be .500 or better over this stretch.
If they can do that and stay within striking distance of the Twins, then they’ll have a real shot at making an October run.
Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes are in a tough spot because they’re with a new organization and expectations are sky high for both players. It could take them a few weeks to get comfortable, which is tough when you look at the upcoming schedule. Fortunately for the Tribe, the additions of Reyes and Puig will help the lineup and they still have enough starting pitching depth to piece it together until Kluber returns.
This team has the potential to win a fourth straight AL Central title and could be a threat in October. The next few weeks are going go a long way in determining the fate of the 2019 Cleveland Indians.