Indians officially eliminated from postseason with Oakland win

The Cleveland Indians will not be making a return trip to the postseason, having been officially eliminated on Friday with the Athletics' 6-2 win in Texas. Cleveland (84-76) staved off elimination earlier Friday with a 1-0 win over the Rays, but can no longer catch Oakland (87-73) in the wild card standings.

In many ways, the 2014 Indians were a lot like the 2013 Indians, only without the insane finish. Last year, Cleveland won its final 10 regular season games and 15 of its last 17 to capture one of the American League wild card spots. This year's Indians squad has had a more pedestrian September at 13-12, and will finish behind the Tigers and Royals in the AL Central.

The future in Cleveland seems bright, with the offensive quartet of first baseman Carlos Santana, third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall, left fielder Michael Brantley and catcher Yan Gomes all having fine seasons in 2014. They will each be between ages 26-29 in 2015.

But the real bright spot the Indians can hang their future hats on is the emergence of ace Corey Kluber, who came into his own at age 28. The right-hander went 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA and 269 strikeouts in 235⅔ innings, setting career highs across the board.

Kluber was joined in the rotation in August by 27-year-old Carlos Carrasco, who along with 23-year-old Trevor Bauer and 24-year-old Danny Salazar provide a fireballing quartet for Cleveland going forward. That group propelled the Indians' rotation to a 3.00 ERA in 66 games since the All-Star break.