Today was a dour day for the Tribe as the news came down that Gavin Floyd’s broken elbow has been reaggravated and he will miss significant time. The official word is indefinite, but he will definitely miss Opening Day and will almost certainly be placed on the 60 Day DL before the season starts. This does open up the fourth spot in the rotation for competition in addition to the fifth, although it would seem that it just simplifies the situation by leaving a spot open for both Danny Salazar and T.J. House. Josh Tomlin, who is currently out with shoulder inflamation, Zach McAllister and Shaun Marcum are also in the running for those two spots in the rotation. Thanks to an incentive laden deal, the Indians will “only” owe Floyd $4M if he is unable to play at all this year.
On a little more positive injury news, Jason Kipnis played in his third game of the Spring today, this time as the DH. The Indians starting second baseman is now 1/8 with one walk and three strike outs this Spring. At the moment, he appears to be completely recovered from both the oblique injury and the finger surgery.
On to the actual game itself, Trevor Bauer started on the mound and was the first Indians pitcher to throw four innings in a single game (only four other pitchers have thrown four cumulative innings) with noticeable results. After looking good for his first three innings and his first six overall (0 ER, 7 hits, 3 K’s), Bauer wasn’t ready for the fourth inning today when Jorge Soler, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant went back-to-back-to-back to give the Cubs their first three runs.
Another potential starter, Shaun Marcum, relieved Bauer and in similar fashion, gave up a solo home run to Welington Castillo, one of just two hits allowed in two innings by the veteran right hander. After Marcum, Scott Atchison pitched a perfect inning in relief with one strike out.
Notable Players of the Day
A pair of Indians outfielders impressed today, not just with their bats, but with their overall efforts. Michael Bourn and Tyler Holt (playing center and left field respectively) combined to go 6/6 with a walk, three RBI and two runs scored. While the actual stats don’t mean much, what the players did individually does matter. Bourn is starting to show some speed again, beating out an infield single and attempting a steal, although he was caught. Two of Holt’s three hits went for extra bases as he showed some power, something that was completely absent in his game in 2014 (just two extra base hits in 71 at bats).
While at the moment, Holt seems destined to start the year at AAA, that could change quickly as he is surpassed in the depth chart by the inferior Ryan Raburn and the slow David Murphy. In addition, Nick Swisher has yet to get into a Spring game as he recovers from his off-season knee surgery giving Holt three possible ways onto the team. If the Indians were to release Raburn, trade Murphy or DL Swisher, a strong Spring would go a long way into earning Holt a spot. Right now, he is holding up his end very nicely.
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