Jason Kipnis sidelined with right calf tightness

Happy Friday, everyone!

Indians 9, Rockies 3

Cleveland.com Recap | Box Score

Oscar Mercado didn’t record a hit for the first time in seven years, Roberto Perez hit his second home run in as many days, and Shane Bieber went five scoreless innings with 8 K. Seems like a good day of work to me.

Tribe news

Kipnis (calf) scratchced vs. Rox but not worried | MLB

Something something Mike Aviles something something Cleveland medical staff. Kip isn’t too concerned, so hopefully he’s back soon.

5 questions for Tribe to answer in camp | MLB

The questions revolve around the outfield (2 questions), player health (3 questions), and the bullpen (1 question).

Which of the new MLB rules changes will impact the Cleveland Indians the most? | Cleveland.com

My guess is the asinine “three batter minimum rule” for pitchers will have the most significant impact on the Cleveland Indians, who are still led by Tito “if I could carry 12 relievers I would” Francona.

MLB’s new rules hurt Cleveland Indians because two deadlines are better than one | Cleveland.com

Mike Chernoff and Chris Antonetti are a bit more concerned about the single trade deadline.

Around the league

• As alluded to above, MLB have created a bunch of new rules for the 2019 and 2020 season. Some are great (shortened time between innings), some seem to be more geared towards helping big-market teams (roster expanded to 26), and some are completely ridiculous (three batter minimum for relief pitchers).
• Almost a year later, Corey Seager is back at shortstop for the Dodgers.
• Michael Fulmer won’t be pitching in games in order to focus on his lower-body mechanics.
• One more bit about the new relief pitcher rule:

Thanks Manfred!