Salazar hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since October 9, 2017 and hasn’t made a start since September 27, 2017. He's battled back from multiple injuries, including arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
Salazar will be on a pitch count [around 70 pitches], but the Indians are confident in his ability, otherwise they wouldn’t put him on the mound against one of the best teams in baseball.
“He will pitch Thursday, kind of a modified opener because he’s been to about 70 pitches,” manager Terry Francona said. “We’ll kind of build, hopefully build into the game and build into the season. And what we’ll do is have [Adam] Plutko ready to be behind him.”
Plutko is a safety valve if things go bad for Salazar in his first start in more than 22 months. If the 29-year-old pitches well, then the Indians won’t be forced to go to Plutko.
Salazar made two rehab starts for Triple-A Columbus. He allowed four hits in 7⅓ scoreless innings. He threw 69 pitches on Saturday, allowing just one hit in four innings. Salazar’s throwing around 92 mph, which isn’t as fast as it was in the past, but he’s been effective in his rehab starts.
Corey Kluber continues to battle back from a broken forearm. The 33-year-old will throw a simulated game for the Indians on Saturday. If things go well, the next step could be a rehab start.
“It’ll either be hitters from either Lake County or Mahoning [Valley],” Francona said. “We’re trying to set that up. [We] Just would prefer him not to face our guys. I think it’s a little better for him and I think actually the young kids enjoy it anyway. So we’re putting that together.”
Kluber has impressed his teammates and coaches with his workouts and rehab sessions. He’s doing everything he can to return to the mound after suffering a broken ulna bone in his right forearm on May 1.
Dan Otero was at Progressive Field on Tuesday. He’s going to start throwing his normal sessions. The Indians want to make sure he's back to normal before he returns to the mound. Otero was placed in the injured list in June with a sore shoulder.
Outfielder Bradley Zimmer continues to rehab in Arizona. He’s hitting and throwing like normal, but isn’t playing in games.
“Getting into a game is still yet to be determined,” Francona said. “It sounded like it was fairly soon, but it was still TBD.”