Indians: It’s time to give Cal Quantrill a shot starting

The Indians starting rotation has taken a hit this year.

The Indians’ strength was expected to be the starting pitching for 2021 but it really hasn’t been the case. Shane Bieber is still in contention for the Cy Young, as he’s been lights out for the Tribe but everyone after him has had their own fair share of issues. Zach Plesac broke his thumb throwing a temper tantrum and will be out for almost a month, Triston McKenzie has lost his accuracy, and most of the other pitchers besides Aaron Civale have been largely disappointments. It’s making people think it’s time for Cal Quantrill to get his shot.

Quantrill was acquired by the Indians in 2020 as part of the Mike Clevinger trade. Since joining the Tribe, he’s been pitching out of the bullpen despite being a starting pitcher in San Diego and its minor league affiliates.

He has only pitched in 41 innings for the Indians, but he’s only given up nine earned runs and holds an ERA of 1.96. As a starter, he has a 4.46 ERA in the minors, and in his only year as a starter for the Padres, he had an ERA over 5.0.

Cal Quantrill could be a gift to the rotation but hurt the bullpen.

Cal Quantrill could give the Indians the lift they need in the rotation but at the cost of what? The bullpen has been the Indians’ best asset all season and Quantrill is part of that. He’s part of a bullpen that features Emmanuel Clase, James Karinchak, and Bryan Shaw; all of whom are integral for the bullpen to function as it does.

So if you take Quantrill from the pen and put him in the rotation, it’s very possible that he’s a guy who loses something after four innings and starts to get lit up in innings five and six. It’s also possible he’s found his stuff and becomes a top guy in the rotation. Either is possible.

The problem comes two-fold. Firstly, if he is successful and stays in the roration, who replaces him in the pen? There are some guys who could try to but none have had Quantrill’s consistency. The second question has to do if he struggles. If Quantrill can’t dominate as a starter and gets moved back to the bullpen, will he be able to re-acclimate? It’s very easy for him to mess up his form too much throwing far more pitches than he’s used to and never really settles back into what he’s been.

Is that a risk the Indians are willing to take to shore up the rotation?

That’s the question you gotta ask yourself but it may be worth the risk if it stabilizes the rotation.