Cleveland Announces Rotation, Bauer Not in it

When Cleveland packed up their trucks and headed for Arizona, one of the few things they knew for sure was that their rotation was going to be good this season and that they would have a tough battle for the number five rotation spot. Throughout the course of the Spring, the battle turned into not just a competition for the number five spot, but the number four spot became up for grabs as well. With Josh Tomlin, Cody Anderson, and Trevor Bauer all in the mix, it seemed very likely that one of them would be placed in the bullpen and they would try to avoid sending any of them to the Minor Leagues. With Bauer as the front runner for the fourth spot, Cleveland hoped for the long awaited breakout season from the once highly regarded prospect. With the veteran but injury prone Josh Tomlin and young Cody Anderson competing for the fifth spot, it seemed likely Tomlin would land in the bullpen. The rotation wound up working out a bit differently than expected, however, and it will go as following:

1 Corey Kluber (2015 stats: 9-16, 3.49 ERA, 245 strikeouts. 2016 Spring Stats: 3-1, 2.21, 20 K's)

2 Carlos Carasco ('15: 14-12, 3.63, 216 K's. '16: 1-1, 4.00, 17 K's)

3 Danny Salazar ('15: 14-10, 3.45, 195 K's. '16 2-1, 6.33, 21 K's)

4 Cody Anderson ('15: 7-3, 3.05, 44 K's. '16: 1-2, 5.50, 15 K's)

5 Josh Tomlin ('15: 7-2, 3.02, 57 K's. '16: 1-0, 4.67, 19 K's)

Bullpen - Trevor Bauer ('15: 11-12, 4.55, 170 K's. '16: 1-0, 2.25, 19 K's)

While Bauer being in the bullpen may not last long, and it is surprising to see, it might be the best possible route. Anderson and Tomlin both excelled in brief 2015 rotation stints, while the 25 year old Bauer has struggled to find consistency and has had several control problems. In recent memory, bullpen stints have worked wonders in Cleveland. Carlos Carasco was a big pitching prospect for a number of years that was held back by poor performance, Tommy John, and suspensions, but ever since a 2014 bullpen role he has turned into one of the best starters in the American League. Only time will tell if Bauer sees similar results, but the Cleveland coaching staff certainly knows what they're doing with this move. Bauer joins closer Cody Allen, and reliever Bryan Shaw, Zach McAllister, Jeff Manship, Dan Otero, Joba Chamberlain, Ross Detwiler, and Dan Otero in the Cleveland bullpen.