CLEVELAND -- Two years ago, the Cleveland Indians were one inning away from their first World Series Championship since 1948, and last fall, they made an earlier-than-expected exit from the postseason after giving up a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.
Because of those disappointing endings, the Indians have plenty of motivation heading into the 2018 season, which gets underway against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field tonight.
“Every time you reach the postseason and you don’t win, I don’t know if you really ever get over it,” starter Corey Kluber, winner of the 2017 American League Cy Young Award, said early in spring training. “I think you find a way to use it as motivation and different ways to drive yourself during the offseason, striving to not have that happen again.”
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ROTATION
Kluber is the leader of a rotation that features a pair of 18-game winners, himself and Carlos Carrasco, a 17-game winner in Trevor Bauer and two players, Mike Clevinger and Josh Tomlin, who finished with 12 and 10 victories in 2017.
“For the last two years, our rotation has been good,” Carrasco told WKYC.com at TribeFest in January. “This year, it’s going to be great too because we went from playing in the World Series to playing in the postseason, just the first round.
“We’re still there, and we’re still getting better every year. I’m pretty sure this year’s going to be great. I think we’re going to be okay for this year and we’re going to be stronger.”
BULLPEN
Middle reliever Bryan Shaw was one of the key losses the Indians incurred in free agency.
In 378 appearances over five years with the Indians, Shaw compiled a 21-22 record with a 3.11 earned run average. Over 358.2 innings of work, Shaw allowed 307 hits and 143 runs, 124 of which were earned, and 31 home runs, an average of just over six round-trippers per season.
However, with Tyler Olson (1-0, 0.00 ERA over 30 appearances) and Nick Goody (1-2, 2.80 ERA in 54.2 innings) back in the fold after standout showings in 2017, left-handed reliever Andrew Miller is confident they can stem the loss of Shaw.
“First of all, to me, what we saw out of Olson and Goody last year, for young guys to come in and show what they could do was huge, and they’re going to be counted on,” Miller said early in spring training.
“They earned that last year, and they’re going to be a big part of what we do.
“McAllister and Otero have probably been overlooked for what they’ve done. They’ve been steady, they’ve been really good for years now, and I think with Bryan being gone, those guys are going to have to fill that hole. He left a big hole. He threw a lot of innings, a lot of important innings for us, but I think those four guys alone are capable.”
HEALTH IN THE LINEUP
One of several Indians to have injuries in 2017, infielder Jason Kipnis suffered through hamstring issues during the second half of the season, but was able to get healthy enough to play during the stretch run and playoffs despite being out of position in the outfield upon his return.
Limited to 90 games in 2017, Kipnis hit .232 with 78 hits in 336 at-bats with 25 doubles, 12 home runs, 35 RBI and 43 runs scored. But after an offseason of conditioning and agility work, Kipnis feels primed and ready to lead the Indians back to the postseason.
“I think when I’m healthy, there’s no one better there, and I plan to prove that,” Kipnis told reporters ahead of spring training, where he hit six home runs, drove in 12 runs, scored 12 and registered 18 hits 52 at-bats (.346 average).
Kipnis is a lifetime .268 hitter with 201 doubles, 21 triples, 88 home runs, 477 runs scored and 389 RBI in seven years with the Indians.
JUST GETTING THERE
Despite losses of key players in free agency, the cupboard is far from bare for the Indians.
With five returning All-Star players from 2017, including Kluber, as well as an AL MVP candidate in Jose Ramirez and two Silver Sluggers, Ramirez and shortstop Francisco Lindor, they are plenty confident in their ability to move forward and contend for not only a third straight Central Division Championship, but also, the team’s first World Series title in 70 years.
PHOTOS: Cleveland Indians set to open 2018 season against Seattle Mariners tonight
“The goal is to get there,” said Miller, himself an AL All-Star in 2017. “Anything can happen, and we saw that last year, but we think we have the right pieces. We have to go out and grind through another season, but we think if we can find our way into the playoffs, this is a team that can win it all.”
