There's a tight race going in the AL Central, and all three teams in contention for the title -- the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers -- are all looking for some extra starting pitching to give them a bit of an edge. The Indians in particular could use a lefty in the rotation. Ryan Dempster of the Cubs has been thrown around as a name that those teams could go after, but they might not need to look outside their division.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says that the Indians could check out Francisco Liriano of the last place Minnesota Twins as a possible option.
Liriano returned to the Twins’ rotation May 30 after a brief spell in the bullpen; his 2.83 ERA since then is among the top 15 for major-league starters during that span, according to STATS LLC. Liriano, 28, would have particular appeal to the Tigers and Indians, who lack a left-handed starter in their rotations. (The White Sox have two, Sale and Quintana.)
Liriano is rarely spectacular but has had flashes of brilliance in his career since his great rookie campaign. His last game saw him strike out 15 players despite getting tagged with a loss, for instance. It wouldn't be an ace move for the Indians to get Liriano but it would be a step towards bolstering a rotation that has been a bit thin.
Whatever the Indians can do, they need to do as soon as possible. They're sliding a bit in the AL Central standings right now, and that won't do with both the Sox and Tigers surging as they have been the past few weeks.
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