It has been evident that Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer hasn’t been entirely pleased with his being relegated to the bullpen to start the 2016 season, just like any other starter. But, that isn’t necessarily a negative to the Indians.
After Cody Anderson and Josh Tomlin were awarded the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the starting rotation, Bauer didn’t make himself available to the media for a couple of days. On Monday he briefly spoke and responded to several questions in a row with, “As long as the team wins, it’s good.”
On Wednesday, Bauer spoke for a second time and said whenever and however the team wants him to pitch, he’ll do it.
“They tell me to go pitch and I pitch,” Bauer said. “Whatever they decide my role is, that’s what I go do. That’s the definition of being professional, right?”
Indians manager Terry Francona has said before that a player being upset with a demotion isn’t automatically a bad message to send. Essentially, the thought is that a player can be upset in the initial moment with a demotion or altered role and also do what the team needs.
“I thought the first day [Bauer] was mad, which we expected,” Francona said. “If somebody told me, I’d probably have been mad too. If he was glad, that would have set up a worse message. I didn’t think he was disrespectful, which is important.”
The Indians said in Goodyear, Ariz. when the announcements were made that the club still envisions Bauer as a pitcher who will make a “meaningful” number of starts this season. Eleven pitchers made starts for the Indians in 2015, so it’s likely Bauer will find his way to a number of starts this season.
“He knows he’s not been banished to the bullpen,” Francona said. “I think we fully expect he’ll help us in one way or another when he pitches and then at some point, I think it’s being realistic that you don’t go through the year with five starters. I wish we did, but the chances of that are very slim.”
Bauer is still only 25 years old and not eligible for arbitration. He’s carried with him a wealth of potential his entire career and had a quality spring. The Indians have had good luck with pitchers either being demoted or spending time in the bullpen before figuring things out as a starter.
“It’s helped [Carlos] Carrasco. Corey Kluber has taken a step back, gone back to Triple-A,” Francona said. “Danny Salazar went to Triple-A. Tomlin’s been in the bullpen and Triple-A. It’s been pretty much everybody, so it’s not like he’s the lone guy and he’s the only one it’s ever happened to and things like that. You see it with most guys.”
Francona pointed out this spring that it wasn’t an indictment on Bauer. There were other variables involved, such as the high notes Anderson and Tomlin ended on last season. Anderson also dedicated himself to an offseason strength and conditioning program and came to camp with an up-tick in velocity. Bauer has also been throwing harder, according to BrooksBaseball.net.
“If you turn it around, not sure what we would have said to Josh Tomlin, Cody Anderson,” Francona said. “So we try to weigh everything. We talked about it a lot, because it’s important. I think we just felt like for our team, it was the best thing to do.”
For Bauer, it’s certainly been an adjustment. He went to the bullpen toward last season but didn’t have much experience there.
“Just new. It’s different,” Bauer said when asked about the toughest part about the move. “Anytime something changes, it’s just different. It takes a while to get used to. … I haven’t had time to make an adjustment yet. Just getting going.”
As for going back to the starting rotation, Bauer says if the team asks him to make the move back, he’ll simply adjust again.
“They just told me I was going to the pen, so I’m just trying to help the team win and be ready for whatever they ask me to do,” Bauer said. “They tell me when to go and what role to be, and I go out there and try do it to the best of my ability.”