Salazar dares to dream at Indians’ spring training

Pitcher looks to put injury nightmare behind.

Danny GOODYEAR, ARIZ. — Salazar has this idea in his head. If everything goes right in the next seven weeks, he feels he should be able to throw a couple of innings by the end of spring training.

For the Indians, who have a string of question marks in the bullpen and a need for a hard thrower in the late innings to pave the way for closer Brad Hand, that would be a good thing. But when was the last time everything has gone right for Salazar?

Salazar wears a tiny gold hand grenade on a chain around his neck. Looking at his career over the last few years, it’s as if someone has pulled the pin on that grenade one too many times.

But the fact that Tuesday was the first day of spring training for the Indians, and the possibility of Salazar helping them at a position in need was still a viable proposition, spoke much of the talent he once showed. It was same talent that convinced the Indians to ignore a winter of payroll trimming and sign Salazar to a oneyear, $4.5 million deal.

Salazar didn’t pitch at all last season. Instead he spent most of the year working on his sore right shoulder. He arrived in Goodyear in January, played long toss, threw bullpen sessions and batting practice, but never felt confident to throw hard. When Salazar made his big-league debut in 2013, he threw in the high 90s, frequently hitting 100 mph.

MRIs, cortisone shots and a PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injection followed. “Nothing worked,” said Salazar.

Finally, surgery was the only option. Dr. Keith Meister performed an arthroscopic debridement and bursectomy on Salazar’s right shoulder on July 2 in Dallas. The season that never started for Salazar was over. He returned to Goodyear, where he’s pretty much been since January of 2018.

“I’ve eaten at every restaurant in Goodyear and Phoenix,” said Salazar.

As for his right shoulder, well, some days it feels good and some days not so good.

“It’s a really slow process,” said Salazar. “One day you feel really good. The next day you feel a little soreness here and there. But the guys in the training room have done a good job keeping me going in the right direction.”

Salazar has been playing catch, but has yet to throw off the mound. In January, manager Terry Francona said he would not be ready by opening day. Whether those plans change is uncertain.

“We are taking it day by day and week by week,” said Salazar. “It’s a slow process. ... We want to make sure I’m 100 percent before I throw off the mound.”

The Indians open the season on March 28 at Target Field against the Twins.

Salazar, whose career has been in a long skid since he made the All-Star Game in 2016, says he’s felt better over the last few weeks. That has allowed him to think about what could happen if everything went right.

“These past few weeks I’ve been making more progress,” he said. “That’s why in my head I’m positive and hopefully at the end of spring training I’ll be able to throw one or two innings. If not, I know the month after that I’ll be throwing off the mound.”

Salazar has always been a starter for the Indians. But the rotation is one of the few positions on the team unfazed by ownership’s order to cut payroll. Salazar at present is in no condition to replace Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger or Shane Bieber. If he does make it back, it will be the bullpen or nothing.