The Cleveland Indians cut ties with relief pitcher Joe Borowski on Thursday. Borowski, who lead the American League in saves in 2007, was sent to the minors on assignment last week after an ineffective start to the season (18 appearances, 6 saves, 7.56 ERA). The Indians decided they've seen enough and released their ex-closer into the free agent market.
Borowski's depature magnifies a growing issue for the Cleveland bullpen. Who takes over as closer?
Rafael Betancourt and Masa Kobayashi have split closing duties (4 saves each) in Borowski's absence to this point. Betancourt has been ineffective with an ERA over 6. Masa Kobayashi is having a good year (3.21 ERA), but is still unproven as a closer at the major league level. Kobayashi relies heavily on location and not on speed. He will not strike out a lot of batters, but should continue to sport a solid ERA and WHIP.
When asked who he was going to use at closer for the remainder of the season, manager Eric Wedge answered, "I think here at the beginning, we'll give Masa the bulk of it. But I want to pick spots to where we try other people, too. It's not just going to be Masa."
With Paul Byrd, Casey Blake, and Jamey Carroll coming off the books at the end of the year, and C.C. Sabathia no longer in the picture, Cleveland will have extra money to spend in the offseason. Closers Brad Lidge (Phillies), Brandon Lyon (Arizona), Rafael Soriano (Braves), Kerry Wood (Cubs), and Francisco Rodriguez (Angels) are all in line to be free agents this offseason. Cleveland might be interested in offering a 4 year contract worth around 40 million dollars (similar to the contracts recently signed by Joe Nathan and Francisco Cordero) to net a quality closer for 2009 and beyond.
