The Cleveland Indians had their series finale against the Chicago White Sox postponed to September 23rd, the team announced Wednesday. The Indians, who have been dealing with troubles in the starting rotation, took this opportunity to reshuffle the staff.
Right-handed pitcher Jean Carlos Mejia (1-0, 0.00), who was originally slated to start Wednesday’s ballgame, was pushed to start on Friday’s matchup against the Baltimore Orioles, the team announced. Starting pitcher Aaron Civale (7-2, 3.28) will start on Saturday as part of the rotation shuffle.
This move comes on the heels of the team starting and sending down Triston McKenzie following his historic start in game one of the Memorial Day doubleheader, as well as stretching out right-hander Cal Quantrill (0-1, 2.08).
With McKenzie being sent down on June 1st, the key rule to note is pitchers optioned to the minors cannot be brought back up to the big leagues for 15 days, unless they are replacing an injured player or are the 27th man in a doubleheader, both of which have been the case for McKenzie. The first date McKenzie could possibly return is June 16th at home against the Baltimore Orioles.
With the current schedule, beginning on Friday, it appears the rotation will be comprised of Mejia, Civale, Quantrill, ace Shane Bieber (6-3, 3.08), and left-hander Sam Hentges (1-1, 7.15). Factoring in the days off, this could be beneficial to the Tribe, as they will only have to go through the rotation twice before McKenzie is eligible to be called up from Columbus.
The other wrinkle to keep an eye on will be the recovery of Zach Plesac (4-3, 4.14), who is on the injured-list with a thumb injury since May 26th. He was reported to miss at least a month, so if the team can get through this stretch, they could be in a position to have Plesac return for a couple weeks before the All Star break.
