Clevinger to open season in Indians' rotation

Barring an injury, Mike Clevinger will open the season in the Cleveland Indians' rotation, manager Terry Francona confirmed Monday, noting that Danny Salazar - his primary competition for the final rotation spot - will likely begin the campaign on the disabled list.

"As we stand right now, he's going to be in the rotation," Francona told MLB.com's Alyson Footer. "Danny is not going to be ready. We're looking for Clev to have a big year. He's strong, and he should be able to be that innings-eater type pitcher."

Clevinger, who crafted a 3.11 ERA over 21 starts and six relief appearances for the Indians last season, dominated Monday in his third spring outing, fanning six and issuing just one walk over three scoreless, no-hit innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Through three Cactus League starts, the 27-year-old right-hander has allowed just one run in six innings while limiting opponents to a .100 average, and Francona marveled Monday at how the swingman has grown of late.

"There's a maturation process, and (Clevinger) falls into that," Francona said. "He is stronger and has some experience, and the experience factor can be really big for guys."

Assuming he stays healthy, then, Clevinger will slot into a wildly talented rotation that will also feature Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin, and reigning American League Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber. Last year, no team received close to as much value from its starting corps as the Indians, who led the majors in WAR (23.1) and finished atop the AL in ERA (3.52), WHIP (1.17), strikeout rate (27.5 percent), walk rate (6.6 percent), home runs per nine innings (1.09), and opponents' batting average (.239).

2017 stats

Salazar, meanwhile, has been limited this spring by inflammation in his right rotator cuff and has yet to throw off a mound, let alone get into a Cactus League game. So far, Salazar - a former All-Star who managed a 4.28 ERA (107 ERA+) over 103 innings in 2017 - has only been playing catch at 90 feet.