Danny Salazar's on-going arm issues complicate Indians outlook
The Cleveland Indians don’t know what’s wrong with Danny Salazar’s right arm, but they do know their talented pitcher isn’t right.
Salazar, 26, was forced to leave Friday’s start against the Minnesota Twins after only four innings. The official word is right forearm tightness, which continues a trend of arm issues that date back to the All-Star break.
In fact, Salazar was unavailable to pitch in the All-Star game due to mild soreness in his right elbow. Since then, Salazar has had his elbow checked three times. He even spent two weeks on the disabled list in August with inflammation.
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Prior to the first flare up, Salazar had been brilliant, posting a 2.36 ERA over 16 starts. In nine starts since, he’s been hit-or-miss. He was a miss on Friday, allowing four runs in his four innings. However, the bigger concerns were a sharp decline in velocity and a noticeable change in his release, which startled pitching coach Mickey Callaway.
“It was a little weird,” Callaway said after Cleveland’s 5-4 victory over the Twins. “It looked like he was throwing a bar of soap, the way he was releasing the ball. So, I wasn’t shocked when he came in.”
It’s a little surprising Callaway didn’t trot the athletic trainer out right away after noticing a difference. Fortunately, Salazar was honest upon returning to the dugout, telling his manager, coach and trainer that something was wrong.
“After the fourth, he came off and he said he was feeling some tightness,” Francona said. “So, obviously, we kind of checked him out. It’s a little different. It’s muscular, which, if it’s going to hurt, that’s good. We’ll certainly keep an eye on him tonight and then when he shows up [Saturday], we’ll see how he feels and then we’ll go from there. That’s really all we have right now.”
If it’s a muscle issue like the Indians believe, Salazar’s long-term outlook seems promising. However, we know Indians fans are focused on the next two months and what could be a deep postseason run. If Salazar misses more time, the team would still be in good shape with Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco atop the rotation. However, they would be in excellent shape with Salazar present and healthy.
The next examination of Salazar’s elbow could determine if that’s even a possibility. Here’s hoping it’s good news, which would allow Cleveland to put its best foot forward in an attempt to snap a 68-year World Series championship drought.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
