Corey Kluber Placed on 10-Day DL After Suffering Back Injury vs. Tigers

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber was placed on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday because of a back injury. 

The Indians announced the move on social media. The team recalled relief pitcher Joseph Colon from the Triple-A Columbus Clippers to take his place on the 25-man roster.

Al Pawlowski of Fox SportsTime Ohio noted Kluber was forced to leave his start against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night with "lower back discomfort."

Kluber was a late bloomer who didn't enjoy his first strong campaign until 2013 when he was already 27 years old. Yet, he's now developed into one of the American League's most reliable aces, as evidenced by his 18-9 record, 3.14 ERA and 1.06 WHIP during the 2016 season.

The Alabama native has also remained mostly durable during his rise to stardom. He's made at least 32 starts in three consecutive campaigns dating back to 2014. He did miss his final projected outing of last year's campaign because of a quadriceps strain, though.

Cleveland's pitching depth is the silver lining if he misses starts. Danny Salazar, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin are still a formidable quartet to lead a rotation. Meanwhile, Mike Clevinger or Zach McAllister figure to get the first opportunity to fill the void.

Even though the Indians are among the teams best equipped to handle a key pitching injury, losing Kluber for an extended period of time would still be a major setback. The team didn't provide any potential timetable for his return to the mound.