The Cleveland Baseball Club has rounded out their rotation going with Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac for the fourth and fifth spots.
Rotation candidate Adam Plutko will start out in the bullpen as the club will only use a five man rotation after considering a six man option.
This is absolutely the right call. Not only is there much more upside with Civale and Plesac, they’re both significantly better than Plutko. Plutko seems best suited for the bullpen as he can come in mop up duty either way. Whether Cleveland is up big or down a ton, Plutko can eat innings to preserve some of their more valuable arms.
If either one of Civale or Plesac falter or suffer an injury, Plutko would be someone on the shortlist to be in the mix to join the rotation. Plutko has experience in that role and is someone that Terry Francona trusts, a factor that should be heavily considered if a replacement is needed.
While the rotation is set, the club has not decided exactly how many pitchers they will carry to start the year.
Cleveland has one more exhibition game with Pittsburgh before the regular season starts and that could impact when it comes to finalizing the roster.
