CLEVELAND: Indians pitcher Danny Salazar continues to draw nearer to his return to the mound. Now at the end of the postseason line, he could be an option for the World Series roster.
Salazar, dealing with a strained forearm, threw in the batting cage on Thursday and is slated to throw roughly three innings in a simulated game either Saturday or Sunday. He also threw off a mound in Toronto.
Indians manager Terry Francona has been pleased with how Salazar has looked recently and that he hasn’t been holding back.
“He let it go, which is good,” Francona said. “He really let it go and threw his change-up with some arm speed. So we’ll see how the next one goes.”
Salazar hasn’t been throwing his curveball through October, as it was putting additional stress on his forearm. When asked if he was still staying away from that pitch, Francona said, “No, I think he’s ready to pitch.”
He could be an option for the Indians as a starting pitcher if he’s lengthened out enough to throw three or four innings, or he could come out of the bullpen. Regardless, the club hopes he’ll be at least available to be an option.
“I think the good news is if Danny pitches and he pitches healthy and he’s throwing the ball over the plate, we have a really good pitcher for however amount of innings he’s built up for, which can potentially help us,” Francona said.
1 through 7
Trevor Bauer’s American League Championship experience ended in less than an inning when his stitched up right pinkie finger began dripping blood.
The Indians can only hope that the additional time between Game 3 of the ALCS and whenever he is scheduled to start in the World Series is enough for the laceration to heal enough to hold up over a complete start. Bauer injured the finger while repairing his drone last Friday.
Bauer has been playing catch and working with weighted balls as he normally would in-between starts. He joked on Friday that he’ll be available Game 1 — as well as Games 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
“That would be a little better than the last series,” said Francona with a laugh.
The club is still working to ensure it will be healed. Dr. Tom Graham, who’s been working with Bauer since the injury just before game 1 of the ALCS, is suturing part of the wound.
“He [Dr. Graham] thinks it’s healing really good,” Francona said. “There’s just that one area down at the bottom where the skin isn’t quite as healthy as the rest of it. So he’s going to suture it back up so it won’t bleed. That’s really the only issue. And he’s very confident that this is not going to be an issue.”
If Bauer pitches in Games 3, 4, or 5, it would take place in a National League stadium, requiring him to hit. Swinging a bat could open the wound and end his outing. But hitting has never really been an option for Bauer anyway.
“I can’t hit without the finger [injury],” Bauer said. “That’s not going to be an issue. I couldn’t hit Little League pitching. I’m certainly not going to hit World Series pitching.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ.