The Indians will promote John Tomlin from Columbus and put him into the starting rotation. He'll be on the mound for Tuesday night's game against Minnesota.
There's been an opening in the rotation for a week now, since it was announced that Carlos Carrasco was being moved to the bullpen. No move had yet been made though, with Tomlin and Trevor Bauer both in the mix. Each of them has pitched very well so far this season, and it's possible this decision was made in part because Bauer is schedule to start this evening in Columbus, and bringing him up would have meant moving other pitchers around to get the days right, whereas Tomlin will be ready to move into the rotation on full rest, without needing to move anyone else around.
In five starts on the season, Tomlin has a 2.06 ERA, with a K:BB ratio of 28 to 9 in 35 innings. He pitched an absolute gem Thursday night, a complete game shutout with 10 strikeouts, 0 walks, and only 3 hits, all on 89 pitches (a Maddux). That was enough to move me from the fence to his side of the argument, so I'm please with this news (though I'd also have been totally fine with Bauer coming up, and he almost certainly will be up at some point this summer, one way or another).
Tomlin previous MLB experience includes close to league-average performance in 38 starts between 2010 and 2011, followed by bad numbers in 2012, before he was shut down with an elbow injury and sent for Tommy John surgery. He had very low strikeout numbers, even in the better years, but was also able to avoid walking many hitters. His velocity is said to be 2-3 MPH higher now than before the operations, and I'm hopeful he's ready to pitch something like a #3 or 4 starter for the Indians.