CLEVELAND — Just when right-hander Zach McAllister seemed to find his niche on the Indians’ pitching staff, a couple of injuries occurred, and apparently took McAllister out of his comfort zone. McAllister took most of the punishment in the Indians’ 8-4 loss to Detroit Friday.
McAllister threw 92 pitches and only made it through four innings, giving up five runs on 13 hits. It was his first start in a season in which he was expected to be a reliever. But all that changed in spring training.
Last year, McAllister was used as both a starter and a reliever, and his numbers were decidedly better out of the bullpen than in the rotation. In 15 starts, McAllister was 3-7 with a 5.67 ERA. He was moved to the bullpen and over the last six weeks of the season, he made seven relief appearances and was 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA.
McAllister went to spring training this year as one of five candidates for one spot in the Indians’ starting rotation. However, Indians officials indicated that if he failed to win that spot in the rotation, he would be kept as a reliever, one reason being McAllister is out of minor league options.
That all changed, however, during spring training when right-hander Gavin Floyd had what is potentially season-ending surgery for a fractured elbow, and right-hander Josh Tomlin had shoulder surgery that is expected to sideline him for three-to-four months. In addition to that, right-hander Danny Salazar had a terrible spring training and was demoted to Triple-A Columbus.
That created two openings in the rotation instead of one, and that resulted in the Indians deciding to open the season with McAllister in the rotation, instead of the bullpen. Friday was the first start of the season for McAllister, and it looked a lot like the starts he had last year that eventually got him moved to the bullpen.