The Indians came up empty in their quest to reel in a starting pitcher in the hours and minutes leading up Thursday’s non-waiver Trade Deadline. The need for improvement remains for Cleveland’s rotation, and that was made clear again against the Mariners.
In the finale of the season series with Seattle, right-hander Zach McAllister labored in another abbreviated effort for Cleveland. McAllister’s missteps heaped too much pressure on the Tribe’s bullpen, creating a formula that led to a 6-5 loss to the Mariners at Progressive Field.
The defeat knocked the Indians another step back in their pursuit of the postseason picture, but the players are trying not to be discouraged by the lack of reinforcements at the Deadline.
“You can look at it two ways,” Indians closer Cody Allen said. “You can look at it as, we have the pieces here that we feel like we can win with. We’re still right there within striking distance of that second Wild Card spot. We’ve got a lot of guys here that this organization is going to build itself around for the next few years and if you add a guy, it may push a guy out.
“So, the way I look at it is, we’ve got the pieces we need already here.”
Three of those core players — Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana — led an offensive attack that nearly helped the Indians to the comeback win, but setup man Bryan Shaw faltered late. The loss added some sting for Cleveland’s players after the front office traded away starter Justin Masterson (Cardinals) and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (Nationals) in the 48 hours prior to the 4 p.m. ET Deadline.
The Indians reeled in a pair of upper-level prospects in the deals — outfielder James Ramsey and infielder Zach Walters — but the club was unable to add to its Major League roster. Cleveland had interest in righty John Lackey (traded to the Cardinals by the Red Sox) and had loosely been linked to lefty David Price (sent from Tampa Bay to Detroit in a three-team swap), but the Tribe did not pull the trigger for a pitcher.
“I hated losing Masty and Cabby,” Allen said. “Because I feel like those guys were as big a part of this organization as anybody. Cabby was the last guy from the ’07 [playoff] team, so he brings a lot. Masty’s been the workhorse of our rotation for the last however many years. He means a ton to this team on and off the field. So, I hated losing those guys, but we’ve still got a chance.”
Behind rotation leader Corey Kluber, Cleveland has mixed and matched and shuffled arms back and forth between Triple-A and the Majors all season. McAllister opened the year in the starting staff, spent time on the disabled list, worked through some kinks in the Minors and recently earned a promotion back to Cleveland.
Against the Mariners, McAllister’s familiar issues arose once again in a no-decision.
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