Is It Time For the Indians to Pull the Plug on Reliever Adam Cimber?

When the Indians acquired closer Brad Hand from the San Diego Padres a few years back, they also got a relief pitcher who many felt would be a staple of the pen for years to come in sidearm thrower Adam Cimber.

At the time Cimber was still young at 27 years old, and he already had Major League experience which the team felt was a huge plus in the deal that netted them their closer moving forward and a big arm for the pen.

Here we sit now three seasons later, and not only has Cimber not been the reliever the team has thought they were getting, it's becoming more and more obvious that he's a pitcher that the team cannot trust in key situations.

Tuesday night at Progressive Field the Indians and Royals were tied at five when Cimber entered the game in the 8th inning.

His night was ugly to say the least, as all he was able to do was retire one Royals batter, but in the meantime he gave up two critical runs that saw the Royals take a 7-5 lead on the way to an eventual 8-6 win.

Making a Case for Zach Plesac to be the Indians No. 2 Playoff Starter

The night for Cimber went like this: single, stolen base, single, sac fly to give KC the lead, single, walk.

Just like that Cimber was pulled by acting manager Sandy Alomar Jr. in favor of Oliver Perez, who with the bases loaded hit Nicky Lopez to allow a second run to score making it 7-5.

Alomar was pretty direct at why Cimber has struggled so much, and wasn't afraid to let the media know why after the game.

"I don't see that wipe out slider, he has to establish the sinker to throw the slider away, the sinker is getting too much of the plate," Alomar said.

With three weeks left till the postseason, Cimber sits with a mark of 0-1 and an ERA of 4.42.

Last season he went 6-3, but again struggled with an ERA that was nearly four and a half at 4.45.

He's a pitcher the Indians truly felt they could develop into a dominant late inning setup man, but now you have to wonder if they can trust going to him at all when the game is on the line.

Now at 30 years old, it's unlikely that Cimber is suddenly going to turn the corner to being a great relief pitcher.

Alomar is right though when talking about Cimber's slider, as when he has issues with it, which has been often, it's ugly to see the results as he gives up hits as well as walks.

Going back again to 2019 Cimber walked 19 batters, striking out 41. This season the opportunities have been few and far between, and since the failures of the last two nights when he's allowed runs to the Royals, it might become even more sparse.

Phil Maton, Cal Quantrill and James Karinchak have all moved ahead of Cimber it would appear on the Indians pen depth chart.

Cimber has appeared in 13 games, throwing just 10.2 innings, but again, if he can't start to find a way to find that slider, he may be at that 10.2 innings mark for a long time to come.

Many on social media Tuesday were critical that Alomar and the coaching staff didn't stick with Karinchak for another inning, as in the 6th he needed just nine pitches to get the Royals out 1-2-3 with a pair of K's.

Instead Alomar went to Quantrill in the 7th, and he gave up the two runs that tied the game at five.

Cimber was up next in the 8th, and that's when the implosion happened to allow two runs to cross to give the Royals the lead for good.

Figuring Out the Wild AL Playoff Race

Expect the coaching staff to think twice about Cimber in those spots again. Yes the team wants to show they have confidence in him, but the leash at this point may just be the shortest it's ever been to use him when the game is on the line.

To keep up with all of Cleveland Baseball Insiders’ coverage, click the "follow" button at the top right-hand corner of this page.

For more from Matt Loede, follow him on Twitter @MattLoede. Follow CBI on Twitter @IndiansonSI

Add us as a preferred source on Google