Rodriguez tabbed to start Tribe's spring opener

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The importance of the first game of Spring Training is far from the significance of Opening Day, but the Indians wanted their decision of who would start the spring opener to have some meaning. Because of the hard work he put in over the offseason, the ball will be handed to Jefry Rodriguez against the Reds on Saturday at Goodyear Ballpark.

“I’m excited because I worked for this,” Rodriguez said in English with a smile on his face after reading the big information board in the middle of the clubhouse to find his name penciled in as Saturday’s starter.

“I’m always excited, regardless of it being the first game,” he said through team interpreter Agustin Rivero. “It’s always exciting to be in any game.”

The Indians' rotation is anything but set in stone. The Tribe has two locks in Shane Bieber and Carlos Carrasco to be ready by March 26. Mike Clevinger is hoping to be cleared before the start of the season after he sustained a partial tear in his meniscus on the second day of camp. If he’s not ready to go, there will be three starting spots up for grabs with Rodriguez, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, Adam Plutko, Logan Allen and Scott Moss all in the mix.

“Not so much for what I showed them,” Rodriguez said when asked if he thought he proved himself as a starter last season, “but I trust myself that I can be an opener.”

Rodriguez made eight starts for the Tribe in 2019 after Clevinger landed on the injured list in early April with an upper back strain. In 43 2/3 innings, he pitched to a 4.74 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 19 walks before he sustained a strained right shoulder on June 2 that kept him on the injured list until Sept. 6. When he returned, he made two relief appearances (one earned run in three innings) before the end of the season.

“Got stronger. He worked on his mechanics,” manager Terry Francona said of Rodriguez’s rehab time. “You know, he did everything you possibly could. He’s said it to us multiple times, he’s appreciated the attention. Not just when he’s pitching in Cleveland, but when he was hurt.”

The 6-foot-6 righty carried that work ethic into the offseason, making three trips to the club’s Spring Training facility, playing a few games for Estrellas Orientales and spending the rest of his time at the Indians’ Dominican Academy.

“The focus was on my lower body and especially my mechanics,” Rodriguez said. “It improves all of the mechanics. ... The focus is not so much increased speed but more so like clean mechanics. In the long-term it will make it a healthier movement.”

Now, the 26-year-old is fighting for a spot in the Tribe’s rotation. With either two or three openings in the rotation -- depending on Clevinger's status -- Rodriguez certainly has a chance to earn a starting role. It’s likely that he, Plutko, Civale and Plesac are the top contenders, and Allen and Moss could begin the season in Triple-A. But in a scenario that Rodriguez doesn’t make it as a starter, there is a chance he’d move into the Tribe’s bullpen rather than getting sent to Triple-A.

“I think as long as he’s getting outs, I think we all will be happy,” Francona said. “I think we’d certainly like to stretch him out because I think he showed last year that he had the ability to start and to be an effective starter. The injury got in the way and derailed his season.”