The Goal for May: Stay the Course, Fix Ubaldo

To his credit, Jimenez knows he’s been bad (5.02 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 28.2 IP), and says he is working to fix his mechanics. However the Indians don’t have the luxury of letting him fix this on-the-go at the big league level. And while the Indians gave up two highly-regarded prospects in Alex White and Drew Pomeranz to get Jimenez, that doesn’t mean the Indians shouldn’t consider shelving Jimenez until he gets this figured out, either by placing him on the DL, or if he accepts an assignment to the minors.

There aren’t any sure-fire fixes for Ubaldo. Nothing the Indians do is guaranteed to work, although the Indians have had some minor success in getting pitchers straightened out in recent years (the former Fausto Carmona, Roberto Hernandez, springs to mind). But in order for the Indians to continue to contend for the AL Central, the Tribe needs a solid #2 starter who can be slotted behind Justin Masterson. And seeing as the Indians already traded the f

arm for Jimenez, the candidates are all in-house usual suspects, and all rather uninspiring. Kevin Slowey, Zach McAllister and Corey Kluber are all in line for spot starts (as is David Huff whenever he’s healthy), but none have the track record, or potential, Jimenez has.

For better or worse, Jimenez is the guy. And if the Indians want this season to be successful, they need to fix him. No other moves should be made until the Indians know what they can get out of Jimenez.

It’s May, and the Tribe has less than five months to get Ubaldo Jimenez right.