Tribe options Anderson to get him regular starts

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Cody Anderson hasn't appeared in a Major League game since Sept. 28, 2016. After returning to the mound for three appearances this spring, the 28-year-old will make the rest of his spring starts at the Minor League level.

Prior to Saturday’s 7-2 win against the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium, Anderson was informed that he was being optioned to the Triple-A Columbus roster to allow him to continue pitching on a regular schedule as a starting pitcher.

Anderson has been battling back from Tommy John surgery that he had in March 2017. Indians manager Terry Francona said that the plan will be to allow the right-hander to make three Minor League starts on Monday, Saturday and then the following Thursday. At that point, they will sit down with Anderson and discuss how he is recovering and determine what to do from there.

“We’re trying to balance about five different things,” Francona said. “One, him coming back from the Tommy John, so you’re talking about workload, you’re talking about recovery. How can he help us? We don’t want to get to a point where, say we need a starter and he’s been fatigued … and we walked through the whole thing with him.

“That’s why we want to let him go the next 10 days [or] two weeks as a starter and see how he’s bouncing back, and that’ll give us the information to know how to proceed from there.”

Anderson made three appearances in big league Spring Training games, including one start. He allowed two earned runs on five hits through four innings. He walked five batters and struck out four.

Because the Tribe’s rotation is set in stone, there have been questions surrounding guys like Anderson and Danny Salazar about whether or not the two will spend some time working out of the bullpen. As of now, it clearly appears as though the Indians want to keep Anderson stretched out as a starter just in case they’d need him. Whether that changes will depend largely on how he continues to progress at the Minor League level.

Clevinger feels nostalgic in Tempe

As he rode into Tempe Diablo Stadium on Saturday, Mike Clevinger said he had flashbacks of when he was a Minor Leaguer in the Angels’ system.

“I mean, just driving it was almost like the normal drive back into the field,” Clevinger said. “I came in through the Minor League side and the same drive over to the big league stadium, so it was actually kind of, like, nostalgic in a way.”

In his third appearance of the spring, Clevinger allowed two runs on two hits while striking out four batters through four frames. He cruised through the first three innings before running into some trouble in the fourth, allowing the first two runners on. He was able to get two quick outs before two scored on a two-out single to center.

“I thought he was tremendous,” Francona said. “In the fourth, it was kind of good that he ran into a longer inning and he had to work a little bit. But our starters, I mean they’ve been so good. You know, especially because we held them out of games, it just kind of shows their work ethic and things like that, because he looks ready to go. We just got to get him stretched out.”

Perez finding offensive success

In preparation for a starting opportunity this spring, Roberto Perez spent the offseason putting in extra time in the Dominican Winter League to get some extra at-bats. Over the last few games, his bat has started to get hot, including a 3-for-3 performance on Saturday with a double and RBI single.

“The last week, 10 days, we really see him staying to right field,” Francona said. “When he does that, [he] gives himself a chance. We saw the other day, he hit a ball to right, and then they hung him a breaking ball and he pulled it for the home run. If he stays with that approach, he’s so much more successful.”

Injury report

Jason Kipnis: Kipnis (right calf tightness) was scheduled to run on the AlterG treadmill on Saturday, according to Francona. If that goes well, his next step will be to run on actual ground before he’s able to get back into game action.

Francisco Lindor: Lindor went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run and played three innings at shortstop in Saturday’s Triple-A game against Cincinnati. “Then he’s just building up intensity, tolerance,” Francona said. “He just continues to build with the occasional day to recover and things like that.”

Danny Salazar: Salazar has thrown up to 180-to-200 feet and upgraded to throwing in front of the mound to a standing catcher Saturday morning. “We want to do it right,” Indians pitching coach Carl Willis said. “We have to respect the fact he did have surgery. We know when he’s healthy he can be very, very special.”

Up next

The Indians will be the away team at Goodyear Ballpark on Sunday against the Reds, who share the stadium. Cleveland right-hander Corey Kluber will start against Cincinnati righty Luis Castillo. First pitch is slated for 4:05 p.m. ET.