Corey Kluber

The Indians don’t seem to have much hope of getting veteran starter Corey Kluber back at any point in the 2019 season. As Ryan Lewis of the Beacon Journal recently reported, Kluber is still limited to doing aquatic exercises as he works to recover from an oblique injury.

That status hasn’t changed in the past few days, leading MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian to tweet that it’d be a surprise to see Kluber back in the regular season. Perhaps a postseason return can’t be ruled out entirely — remember Kyle Schwarber? — but it feels quite unlikely.

Trouble is, there just isn’t much time for Kluber to rebuild his arm strength even if he can get past the oblique issue. As skipper Terry Francona put it, “He’s got a ways to go.” Given that Kluber was already working back from a forearm fracture when he suffered the new injury, it’d be difficult to justify an aggressive build-up.

If indeed Kluber is done pitching for the year, it would mean the Indians won’t have a chance to glean further information before deciding on his club option. On the one hand, given Kluber’s still-recent history of dominance, it’s hard to imagine the team passing on the $13.5MM price tag in favor of $2MM in total buyouts. That’s particularly true with another option year still to come for 2021. On the other, the 33-year-old struggled even before he went down and will now be working back from a completely lost campaign. And the cost is far from insignificant to the budget-watching Cleveland organization.

This season has already tested the Indians’ vaunted pitching depth, and the latest development regarding venerable righty Corey Kluber will do so further. He’s now slated for at least a two-week shutdown after leaving his most recent rehab start with an abdominal issue, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports.

It had seemed that Kluber was finally nearing a return after a lengthy layoff owing to a forearm fracture. He’s closing in on three months away from the MLB roster. While it’s good that he hasn’t suffered another elbow ailment, the new malady is worrisome in its own right.

The trouble now is with the calendar. Kluber will need to ramp back up a bit once his rest period is over, all while the team keeps a close eye on his arm health and tries to ensure he does not make things worse in his core. While there’s an obvious desire to take things slowly, the opportunities for minor-league rehab work will expire in early September — though there could be some innings to work with if the division-leading Columbus Clippers can mount a Triple-A postseason run. Beyond that practical concern, there’s simply not much time remaining to build up a pitch count before the season ends.

It’ll be interesting to see how things progress. The Indians will be able to work with an expanded roster once Kluber is ready for action. But they’ll also need to feel good about inserting him into a postseason race in order to get him much-needed work.

The entire situation is loaded with risk and upside for the Cleveland organization. At his best, Kluber is one of the game’s preeminent starters. Even if he’s not capable of working as a full starter in the postseason, he might be a key piece of the roster. It’s stunning just how effective the Indians rotation has been despite the huge in-season changes it has undergone, but it’s not as laden with aces as was expected entering the year. In the background is Kluber’s contract, which includes a pair of options — $13.5MM and $14MM, each with $1MM buyouts — that could be a major organizational asset if he’s able to regain his form.

Two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber set out on a minor league rehab assignment Thursday, tossing three innings for the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate in Columbus.

Kluber made 41 pitches across three innings, allowing a pair of runs on two hits — both solo homers — and a walk with two strikeouts. That line isn’t exactly pretty, but the organization’s focus for Kluber is surely more on the process and how Kluber will feel in the coming days than it is on the bottom-line results. Kluber hasn’t pitched since May 1, when he sustained a fractured forearm upon being struck by a comeback line drive.

Of course, Kluber’s results soon will be the focus, and the version of him that returns from the injured list will have a seismic impact on Cleveland’s postseason chances. If the Indians are greeted by the Cy Young-winning ace that Kluber has been for much of his career — or anything close to it — they’ll pose an even more formidable threat to the Twins and their dwindling division lead. But Kluber opened the season in a disastrous slump, pitching to a 5.80 ERA and battling control issues the likes of which we’ve never seen from him. In just 35 2/3 innings of work, Kluber walked 15 batters (3.8 BB/9) and hit another three. For a pitcher who only walked 34 batters and hit three in 215 innings last season, that was obviously an unsettling start to the year.

There’s little reason to believe Kluber won’t return to form, but he’ll need to sharpen his command quickly with Cleveland in a tight race for the American League Central crown. The Indians’ pitching staff has been rocked by injuries this season, but the team has remained competitive thanks to a breakout from Shane Bieber and solid contributions from lesser known arms like Zach Plesac. A healthy and effective Kluber will be all the more important now that Trevor Bauer is pitching in Cincinnati following a three-team deadline blockbuster. If Kluber can indeed bounce back, he’ll join Bieber and Mike Clevinger in comprising one of the more imposing rotation trios in the game.