Guardians option for starting pitcher in minor leagues, which opens up the possibility of a recent trade acquisition

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Guardians slugger Logan Allen is headed to Triple-A Columbus a day after the left-handed pitcher recorded a season-high nine strikeouts in Cleveland’s 4-2 win over the Giants at Progressive Field.

Cleveland acquired Allen, 25, before Sunday’s series finale. The move frees up a spot on the 26-man roster and in the starting rotation for right-hander Spencer Howard, acquired Friday in a trade with San Francisco. Howard, 27, was 1-1 with a 5.63 ERA in seven appearances, including two starts, for the Giants this season.

In 18 starts for the Guardians, Allen was 8-4 with a 5.67 ERA and a 1.546 WHIP in 87 1/3 innings. He struck out 76 batters and walked 35. Last season, Allen was 7-8 in 24 starts with a 112 ERA+. This year, Allen’s ERA+ was 29% below the league average of 71.

Coach Stephen Vogt said telling Allen he was being sent down the league was a tough call, especially considering the left-handed starter has played such a large role in the club’s success this year.

“It’s an opportunity for Logan to come down and get some consistency,” Vogt said. “We saw that once he’s on the field, he’s productive, he fills the strike zone, he plays six innings. Then he’ll have one where he struggles, a lot of pitches, he’ll struggle to find the strike zone and he won’t get as far.”

The key for Allen will be working on improving his passing game, and Vogt said the organization felt it was a good time for him to step back and get his act together.

“He understands he has to get deeper into the game and be more consistent with his strikeouts,” Vogt said. “He recognized that, and we know he’s going to come down and work incredibly hard and diligently to get back.”

Allen is the second member of the season-opening rotation to be left out of the lineup in the last week, joining Triston McKenzie, who was left out of the Columbus lineup last week.

“As Triston and I talked about, our best team is one where both of these players are in their best shape,” Vogt said.

The club is still determining where and when Howard will make his Guardians debut.

“Spencer just came into the building today, so we haven’t had a chance to talk to him much yet, given the short day,” Vogt said. “We should know more in the next few days where Spencer fits in.”