The Cleveland Indians didn’t enter the season viewed as a powerhouse. However, because of their pitching staff and a few star hitters, they were looked at by many as locks for the AL Central Division crown, just as they have been for the past several years.
Nobody denied, however, that the club was operating with a thin margin for error. And this past week that margin was sliced in half by the razor-like reality of Corey Kluber’s injury. The ace right-hander suffered a broken right ulna bone in his forearm on May 1 and recently revealed that he has no timeline for a return, causing some to wonder if he’ll even pitch again in 2019.
He joins fellow starter Mike Clevinger on the injured list, further decimating a team that’s sputtering offensively. Those two Indians stars, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez, each own a wRC+ below 100, and there’s really no one in the lineup other than Carlos Santana picking up the slack.
All of this bodes well for the Minnesota Twins, who currently own the best record in baseball and have risen in our MLB Power Rankings. It’s only May, but could this be the end of Cleveland’s reign atop the Central?
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