The Cleveland Indians are rocking and rolling with a starting rotation filled with rookies.
While the plan could work, it is a risky one.
Not having Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, and Shane Bieber is a doomsday scenario, yet the Indians are continuing to keep pace with the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central.
Plesac is also on his way back soon.
But the front office is being proactive, even if it is on a small scale.
First came signing veteran pitcher Brad Peacock to a minor league deal.
He can be both a starter and reliever, but the former role is why he was brought in.
The low-risk moves continued Tuesday as the Indians signed veteran pitcher Zack Godley to a minor league deal.
The Indians have signed RHP Zack Godley to a Minor League contract and assigned him to the Triple-A Columbus roster.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) June 29, 2021
Godley is not a big-name signing, but could provide some innings while the rotation gets whole again.
Background On Godley
The 31-year-old right-hander began the year with the Milwaukee Brewers, only to be cut loose after two bad outings.
Some fans may notice his 16.20 ERA in only 3.1 innings of work.
Yet the veteran does have 89 career MLB starts to his name and was even a 15-game winner with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018.
He ended up having a disastrous year with the Boston Red Sox in 2020, but it remains hard to judge any player for results during the shortened season.
Following his Brewers departure, Godley is now trying to prove he can be an MLB starter once again with the Indians.
He did have 185 strikeouts during his great 2018 campaign, so the talent could still be in there.
The Indians are starting by sending him to Triple-A so he can get a start or two under his belt.
But fans should expect to see him and Peacock up sometime soon.
This allows the Indians to see what they have in both and also allows young players like Eli Morgan and J.C. Mejia to get more time in Triple-A if needed.
Right now, both are up out of necessity.
A Positive Pitching Update
The signing of Godley comes at a time when fans are searching for any sort of update on the ace Bieber.
One was finally given Tuesday.
Shane Bieber did about 100 dry runs through his delivery. Tito said he was pumped to get onto the field again.
Tito: 'He was pretty fired up. It's just another step, but he said he got to feel the dirt and he was kind of revved up about that.'
— Ryan Lewis (@ByRyanLewis) June 29, 2021
Bieber is still not actually pitching, but even getting out there and going through his delivery represents a positive step forward.
He can gauge how his shoulder feels and let the team know if he is feeling any pain.
Just going through the literal motions is the first step toward actually throwing again, and then throwing again at his normal elite rate.
We expect Plesac to be the first to return.
Next up should hopefully be Bieber, while Civale is targeting a return near the end of July or right at the start of August.
In the meantime, Peacock and Godley should get shots to prove they still have what it takes to be in a MLB rotation.
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