Why didn’t the Vince Young news make even a small splash?
May 2, 2014Nyjer Morgan called up, Trevor Bauer throws another gem
May 4, 2014The Indians announced a series of roster moves on Saturday afternoon, highlighted by the DFA of utility man Elliot Johnson and the planned promotion of Josh Tomlin to start on Tuesday.
Today as well, starting catcher Yan Gomes was placed on the three-day paternity list. His wife Jennifer, the daughter of former major league Atlee Hammaker, gave birth to a daughter named Brooklyn Mae. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman wrote about the baseball-infused family last weekend.
To replace Gomes, the team purchased the contract of veteran George Kottaras from Columbus. The soon-to-be 31-year-old Canadian catcher has 295 games of career MLB experience. A left-handed hitter, he has a decent .220/.319/.430 line against righty pitchers, where the Indians have really struggled thus far in 2014. Kottaras was signed to a minor league deal in late March. He was only 2-for-25 in nine games for the Clippers.
The squad also added Nick Hagadone, perhaps temporarily, back to the bullpen. The big left-hander has struggled in 67.2 innings of MLB relief with a 5.59 ERA and 5.6 walks per nine innings. But he’s now 28 years old and has done nearly all he can do in Triple-A with a 2.90 ERA in 99.1 innings. If you recall, his most infamous Cleveland moment was his self-inflicted injury back in 2012.
Johnson, 30, batted only .105/.105/.211 in 20 plate appearances for the Indians. Many fans were unhappy when Nyjer Morgan was sent down to Columbus instead of Johnson upon Michael Bourn’s return from the disabled list. He had been signed in late January and was one of the final players to make the 25-man roster. With Lonnie Chisenhall batting well and Jason Kipnis out at least three weeks, we’ll simply just continue to see plenty of Mike Aviles and occasional signs of Jose Ramirez.
The mild surprise was in Tomlin returning to the No. 5 role instead of youngster Trevor Bauer. Tomlin, who had Tommy John surgery back in August 2012, has a 2-1 record with a 2.06 ERA in five starts for the Clippers. He had a very solid 2011 season for the Indians, before struggling and then having surgery.
Kottaras will likely return to Columbus upon Gomes’ return. Then, the only question will be whether Hagadone or perhaps now-converted reliever Carlos Carrasco will go down upon Tomlin’s official promotion.
Justin Masterson starts Saturday evening and Corey Kluber will start Sunday afternoon against the White Sox.
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Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer