Report: Indians discussing 3-man playoff rotation

With two of their best starters out indefinitely with long-term injuries, the Cleveland Indians are trying to get creative with their playoff rotation.

The Indians are discussing the possibility of deploying Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer on short rest, with a combination of Josh Tomlin and Mike Clevinger rounding out the rotation, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

After it was announced Danny Salazar would miss four-to-six weeks with a flexor strain sustained on Sept. 9, the Indians lost Carlos Carrasco to a fractured finger after he was struck on the hand by a comebacker off the bat of Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler.

Kluber, an American League Cy Young candidate and staff ace, said that despite losing two important members of the rotation, the team is confident in the guys they have.

"We lost a really good pitcher yesterday, probably one of the better pitchers in the league," Kluber told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian on Sunday.

"But I don't think anybody's in here feeling sorry for ourselves because of it. I don't think there's a gloomy outlook or anything. Other guys have pitched well up to this point to get us where we are now, so I don't think there's any reason why we can't continue to going forward."

Once considered the best rotation in the AL, the Indians will attempt to win the AL Central division for the first time since 2007 without Salazar and Carrasco, who were a combined 22-14 with a 5.1 WAR and 311 strikeouts. Cleveland enters Monday with a seven-game lead over the Tigers.