No big surprise, but the Indians have sent top prospect Trevor Bauer to Triple-A after he was in the mix for the final rotation spot.
Cleveland previously reassigned Daisuke Matsuzaka to minor-league camp, taking him out of the rotation mix, but fellow reclamation projection Scott Kazmir remains in the running along with Carlos Carrasco.
Bauer was acquired from the Diamondbacks in the big swap that saw Shin-Soo Choo leave Cleveland and has No. 1 starter upside if he can consistently throw strikes, but at age 22 and with just 14 starts at Triple-A he was a longshot to make the Opening Day roster.
Letting him dominate for a month or two in the International League before a call-up is certainly a reasonable idea. Plus, it potentially gives our own Craig Calcaterra a chance to make the trek to Columbus to see Bauer pitch and, more importantly, perhaps talk him into a rap battle or at least a nice lunch date.
