The Cleveland Indians will activate Starting Pitcher Trevor Bauer from the Disabled List this week. The right-handed man failed for weeks with a stress reaction in the right fibula.
The plan seems clear: The Indians want Bauer to be part of the post-season rotation. In order to achieve this after a longer break – his last start was on August 11 – Bauer is to complete three more starts in the Regular Season.
The first one will be in Boston on Friday, where Bauer will pitch “a few innings” according to manager Terry Francona. Afterwards, he is to continue throwing in the bull pen to increase his pitch count.
Bauer will also play the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday and in Kansas City on the last weekend of the season.
“To give him a chance, we think he needs three missions,” Francona said on Wednesday. “And this was the way there. Getting him back is great. Our goal now is to see if there is enough for post-season starts.”
Bauer is thus embarking on a race against time, as the ALDS is likely to start against the Houston Astros in Texas on October 5. Ideally Bauer would pitch game 2 or 3 in the following days. Plan B would be to use it as a relief, should he not be able to build up enough condition in the short time.
This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.