Following an All-Star break in which they sent six All-Stars to Washington D.C. only to come back with seven, the Cleveland Indians will kickoff the second half of their season on Friday night when they face the Texas Rangers.
Laying claim to a 52-43 record, the Indians will start their post-All-Star break season with a 7.5-game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central. But while Cleveland is currently in the driver's seat for a third straight division title, the Indians still have work to do if they're going to close in on an elusive World Series title.
With that in mind, here are three keys for the Tribe heading into the second half of the 2018 season:
Maintain momentum
After a relatively sluggish start to the 2018 season, the Indians hit their stride at the start of the summer. Since June 5, Cleveland has amassed a 22-15 record.
That run has allowed the Indians to separate themselves in the Central, giving them some padding entering the second half of the season. Even after losing four straight in early-July, Cleveland bounced back to win three of its final five games heading into the All-Star break.
For the Indians, maintaining such pace would make for a stress-free second half, allowing manager Terry Francona to make decisions with the best intentions for the postseason in mind. Entering the playoffs with momentum would be a nice plus too, although as last season showed, it's hardly a necessity.
A better bullpen
Of the few weaknesses that exist on this year's Indians team, a depleted bullpen has been the most glaring. Following the offseason departures of Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith and injury issues for Andrew Miller, Cleveland's bullpen has proven to be an Achilles' heel of sorts, laying claim to a 5.28 ERA -- the second-worst in all of baseball.
Prior to their return from the All-Star break, the Indians did their best to rectify that issue, trading catcher/outfielder Francisco Mejia to the San Diego Padres for All-Star reliever Brad Hand and rookie Adam Cimber. Although the acquisitions of the two relievers came at the cost of his top prospect, Indians president Chris Antonetti sent a clear message with the bolstering of his bullpen.
“It’s a hard balance for us. We’ve traded a lot of good players and good prospects," he said. "But we’re trying to win a World Series.”
With the addition of Hand coinciding with a potential return for Miller, Cleveland could prove capable of doing just that.
Stay healthy
All things considered, the Indians have been relatively fortunate on the injury front this season. Aside from Miller, who's nearing a return and Lonnie Chisenhall, who's dealing with a calf strain, the Indians return from the All-Star break just about as healthy as any Major League team can ask to be.
Now they need to keep it that way.
So long as Cleveland continues to trot out lineups featuring healthy versions of Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley, paired with a rotation including Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer, the Indians should have more than a puncher's chance to win the World Series should they make a third straight postseason. The key to the group could very well be Kluber, who recently received an injection to deal with an ailing knee.
But should a return to full health help Kluber regain his Cy Young Award-winning form, Cleveland will have more than enough pitching and firepower to hang with the likes of the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
Can the third time be the charm for this era of Indians baseball? We're about to find out.