MLB Player News

The Indians fear that Clevinger's (back) absence could span multiple months, Nick Camino of WKYC Channel 3 Cleveland reports.

Shortly after Clevinger was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, manager Terry Francona dropped a bombshell when he said that the right-hander wouldn't be ready to resume a throwing program for 6-to-8 weeks. Francona's estimate now sounds like it may have been overly conservative, with Camino's report intimating that Clevinger might not be ready to return from the IL until the second half of the season. Regardless of the length of Clevinger's absence, it's a costly loss for a Cleveland squad that is already missing arguably its top hitter in Francisco Lindor (calf/ankle). The Tribe has yet to name a replacement in the rotation for Clevinger, whose next turn was set to come Saturday in Kansas City.

Sale was barely able to work between his first two starts of the year due to an illness, potentially explaining his steep velocity drop, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Sale's fastball averaged just 92.8 mph in his first start of the season, but it dropped to 89.9 mph for his second outing. For a pitcher who battled shoulder inflammation late last season, it was easy to connect the dots and point to a possible recurrence of the same issue. The illness at least provides an excuse for his second outing and allays some of the worst fears about the lefty, but he still has a long way to go before he's back to his normal, dominant self. On an encouraging note, manager Alex Cora said that Sale had a normal bullpen session over the weekend in advance of his third start Tuesday against the Blue Jays, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.

Clevinger's back strain is significant enough that he won't be able to pick up a baseball for 6-to-8 weeks, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Clevinger suffered the injury in Sunday's start against the Blue Jays and initially expected to make his next start, but he'll now be out for quite some time. He'll need to get back into game shape following such a long absence, which would likely push his return into early or mid-June. The Indians haven't announced his replacement in the rotation.

The Indians placed Clevinger (back) on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

In his second start of the season Sunday versus the Blue Jays, Clevinger was in the midst of another dominant outing before straining his upper back and leaving after completing five innings. While the right-hander was confident the injury wouldn't cost him any starts, the Indians ultimately decided Clevinger would need more time to recuperate. The team hasn't indicated that Clevinger's back issue is a long-term concern, so there still seems to be a decent chance he'll be ready to return in the minimum 10 days. The Indians will first require a replacement in the rotation for Clevinger on Saturday in Kansas City.

Verlander gave up three earned runs on seven hits over six innings in a no-decision against the Yankees on Monday, striking out six and walking two as the Astros eventually prevailed 4-3.

Verlander had a rough outing against the Rangers in his last start, and while he still wasn't quite back to his usual lights-out self in this one, he did manage to bounce back with a quality start as the Astros rallied for the victory. Verlander will take a 4.24 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP and a 19:6 K:BB into his next trip to the mound, which will come against the hot-hitting Mariners on Saturday.

Rodon (1-2) allowed four runs on eight hits with nine strikeouts and five walks across 4.2 innings during a loss to the Rays on Monday.

The 26-year-old threw more than 55.0 percent strikes, which actually isn't a horrible number, and induced 20 swinging strikes. However, he started behind in the count too often. Rodon only threw a first-pitch strike to 13 of the 27 batters he faced. He walked one batter in each of his first two outings this season, but walks were an issue last season for Rodon. The lefty is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 24 strikeouts in 16 innings this season. Hopefully he can re-find his control in his next probable start against the Yankees.

Snell (2-1) allowed one run on six hits, striking out 11 and walking none across six innings in a victory against the White Sox on Monday.

The extra day of rest apparently worked wonders for Snell. Since a rocky first start, he's struck out 24 batters in the last 13 innings. He tossed up another home run Monday, giving him four on the year, but three of them came in that aforementioned terrible Opening Day outing. While that's something to monitor, three starts is probably too small of a sample size to suggest Snell is going to give up more homers this year. He is 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 27 strikeouts in 19 innings. His next start is expected to be against the Blue Jays.

Severino (shoulder) will head to New York for an MRI on Tuesday, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Severino had been throwing long toss but didn't feel right during his most recent session. The pitcher reportedly hasn't felt any increased pain, but he and the team are concerned why the shoulder hasn't progressed to the point where he can get back on the mound. The extent of the setback should become clear once the results of the MRI are known.

Springs walked one over two scoreless innings in Sunday's 7-2 loss to the Angels.

With Adrian Sampson moving into the rotation as a replacement for the injured Edinson Volquez (elbow), Springs moves up a notch in the bullpen as a long reliever. The Rangers have a couple of relievers stretched out enough to throw multiple innings when needed, but the early results favor Springs as the top option. After a one-inning stint in his first appearance, the left-hander has worked multiple innings in his last three. Springs has allowed one run on three hits and six walks while striking out seven over seven innings across four outings.

Stroman (0-2) took the loss Sunday against Cleveland after surrendering three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out six over six innings.

Stroman allowed two quick runs in the first inning but settled down during the next few frames before giving up his third run of the day in the fifth. Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, the Blue Jays offense stalled with Mike Clevinger on the hill for the opposition. Stroman remains without a win through his first two starts of 2019 despite owning a 2.41 ERA with 18 punchouts over 18.2 innings.