The Indians told Cal Quantrill before the offseason began to prepare as if he would be a starter in 2021. While he was the favorite to take the fifth spot in the rotation heading into camp, Indians manager Terry Francona said he’d be shocked if Logan Allen didn’t “make some noise” this spring after he reported to camp.

Francona’s prediction has proved correct, and now, there’s a tight battle.

Quantrill and Allen both pitched on Saturday, as Allen tossed 4 2/3 innings, permitting two runs on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts in a "B" game against the Mariners, and Quantrill gave up six runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings in the Indians’ 6-2 loss to the White Sox at Camelback Ranch.

“It’s never OK to not win,” Quantrill said. “Right now, I’m not executing enough. … The arm feels fine. There’s nothing going on. Just need to improve.”

The rotation was going to undoubtedly feature Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale, and Triston McKenzie. Adam Plutko, Quantrill and Allen knew they’d be fighting for the last two spots. It still seems likely McKenzie will be given a chance to build on the momentum he built in 2020 and the Tribe has already made the decision to move Plutko to the bullpen.

That leaves Quantrill and Allen.

Quantrill has had more of a rollercoaster spring than he wanted. Before Saturday’s outing, he owned a 6.48 ERA (now 9.82) with seven walks and six strikeouts in his first four games (8 1/3 frames). But Francona has focused on the positives from his outings, noting that despite his numbers, the ball has looked really good coming out of Quantrill’s hand.

“This kid is going to be fine,” Francona said. “Again, I know I say it a lot, but when we're in June and he's pitching, nobody is going to care that at the end of February, early March, he didn't command really well or he left the ball over the middle of the plate. That's kind of the good part about Spring Training.”

Sure, performances in Spring Training become irrelevant by June. But when Allen has been pitching to the level that he has over the past three weeks -- a 1.00 ERA, permitting just one run and one walk with 11 strikeouts in nine innings -- it’s going to be a factor.

One of the two will be penciled into the rotation, but what will be the plan for whomever doesn’t win the job? Because the team would likely want to have another starting option ready to go should an injury or any other issues arise, it wouldn’t be surprising if the hurler who doesn’t make the Opening Day rotation starts the year at the alternate site.

“You can't just take what you would envision as your best team for Opening Day and not at least be thinking you'd better have some depth in starting and in the bullpen at Triple-A,” Francona said. “Saying that, the first two weeks of the year are a little unique because of the off-days we have. So, we're going to have to take that into consideration, also. And we've come up with several ideas. We just want to let the guys settle in with their pitching and we'll try to figure out where it best makes sense.”

Luplow makes spring debut

He’s been sidelined all spring with an ankle sprain that he sustained during live batting practice at the start of camp, but Jordan Luplow was finally penciled into the Tribe’s lineup on Saturday against the White Sox. He played four innings in left field and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Assuming he doesn’t have any setbacks, the Indians expect him to be ready by Opening Day.

“He took a ton of swings [on Friday] and came through it fine,” Francona said prior to Saturday’s game. “So, we’ll get him out there for about four or five innings today and then try to play him as much as we can without overplaying him. But, no, that’s really good. His bat, especially against left-handers, really helps our lineup.”

Sandlin will not make Opening Day roster

Although it wasn’t expected that Nick Sandlin, who missed most of 2019 due to forearm surgery, would break camp with the Tribe without having a tremendous number of reps since he’s recovered, the Indians talked to him on Saturday morning to inform him that he will not be making the Opening Day roster.

However, the team understands that the sidearmer will likely play a role on the big league roster at some point this year, so it decided against reassigning him to the depth camp in order to continue to give him as much experience as possible.

“We said, ‘Innings are getting scarce,’” Francona said. “But we felt like any inning, even finishing innings, for him, could be really beneficial, because he’s on the cusp. He’s gonna help us. We know that. So, the more experience we can get him, the better off he’s gonna be. … His stuff is, I’d call it kind of electric. Where his slot is, it’s pretty nasty.”