FanPost

Cleveland Indians' success depends on busy bullpen

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

As the Indians embark on their quest for a division title, most people agree they have one of the top starting rotations in the league. How Cleveland’s bullpen performs in 2015 could decide just how far the Indians go this season.

Terry Francona asked a lot of his bullpen last year. Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer were the only two Cleveland starters to average 100 pitches per start. Instead, Francona put the workload on the bullpen. It was the correct move on his part.

The result was a bullpen that finished 2014 setting an American League record with 573 relief appearances. Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen and Scott Atchison ranked in the Top 10 in MLB coming into a game on zero days’ rest. Cleveland also became the first team in AL history to have four pitchers (Shaw, Allen, Atchison and Marc Rzepczynski) to each have 70 appearances in the same year.

So will all those innings have a lingering effect this season? Only time will tell but Francona is already taking measures to make sure the relievers he depended on so heavily in 2014 are ready for the grind of the upcoming year.

"We actually are in the process now, with the guys that pitched a lot, walking through how they would like to prepare for the season, because they're all so good about understanding what they need to accomplish," Francona told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. "The biggest thing is common sense and listening to them. They're getting ready for a long season."

Kluber, Bauer, Carlos Carrasco and Gavin Floyd spearhead a nasty rotation that’s on the verge of being the envy of almost every team in baseball. Regardless of who wins the fifth spot in the rotation, the Indians have depth with Danny Salazar, T.J. House and Josh Tomlin.

Closers can be fickle from year-to-year but the Indians appear to be in great shape with Allen. He was the most dominant member of Cleveland’s bullpen even before unseating John Axford as the closer. Allen finished last season with a 2.07 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 11.8 K/9 and 24 saves in 76 appearances, so a regression seems highly unlikely.

With the Indians looking strong at both the start and end of games, that just leaves the middle relievers. It’s arguably the toughest area to project from one season to the next for teams but if that unit delivers again in 2015, the Indians pitching staff will be a nightmare for hitters.

Atchison is still going strong at 39 but he’s coming off a season where he pitched 72 innings. Rzepczynski seems to face at least one batter every night. Shaw is one of the best set-up men in the league but has pitched 151 innings over the last two years and appeared in an AL-leading 80 games in 2014.

The good news is the Indians starters will be going longer into games this year and with Nick Hagadone, Kyle Crockett and likely Zach McAllister having big roles, perhaps the innings will be distributed more evenly. However, don’t expect the Indians to start leading the league in complete games. Francona has always carried a lot of relievers and he’s never been afraid to rely heavily on his bullpen arms. That won’t change this season.

The Indians bullpen put a lot on its shoulders last year. They’ll be asked to do it again this season. Cleveland has some other issues to address – like playing better defense – but if the bullpen does its job, the Indians will be tough to beat in the AL Central.

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