MLB News: Cleveland Indians claim Tampa Bay’s Joey Butler

The minor moves continue: The Cleveland Indians announced on Monday that they have claimed outfielder Joey Butler from the Tampa Bay Rays. The news comes during the early stages of the 2015 Baseball Winter Meetings in Nashville.

Butler, who turns 30 in March, is already infamous among the Indians fan base for breaking up Carlos Carrasco’s no-hit bid with two outs in the bottom of the ninth on July 1 in St. Pete. To make room on the team’s complete 40-man roster, the Indians designated pitcher Jayson Aquino for assignment.

A right-handed hitter, Butler had a career season last year in the bigs. After playing in only 14 career major league games prior to 2015, he batted .276/.326/.416 in 88 total games for the Rays. He was particularly impressive in his first six weeks with the team.

Overall, he added 12 doubles, 8 homers, and five steals. FanGraphs’ UZR/150 gave him a +5.4 rating in his limited (36 games) appearances in the outfield. He primarily was the team’s lead pinch hitter and back-up designated hitter. He struck out quite a lot — 82 K’s against 16 walks — but still managed to have a pleasantly surprising year.

In 431 career Triple-A games, he has batted .306/.399/.480. So he’s clearly proven his offensive value there and can add to the upper-level organization depth for the Tribe. Butler also played briefly for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014, but was then sold to the Orix Buffaloes in the Japan Pacific League. He landed with the Rays organization for 2015.

The Rays designated Butler for assignment last week after the addition of catcher Hank Conger. They may have been concerned by Butler’s second-half regression — he batted just .184/.250/.262 in his final 44 games — or perhaps his woeful strikeout-to-walk ratio. Either way, the Indians picked up another outfield option for practically nothing.

Previously, the Indians added outfielder Collin Cowgill from the Los Angeles Angels in a similar move. However, Cowgill’s more proven major league experience and +15.6 UZR/150 in 293 career games in the outfield look far more valuable than what Joey Butler might offer. But it’s still hard to complain with free.

Aquino, a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher purchased from the Pittsburgh Pirates in July, made just six starts for the Indians’ High-A Carolina League affiliate last season. He was traded earlier in the season from the Toronto Blue Jays to Pittsburgh, as well. He’s likely to get another shot elsewhere, but wasn’t worth the 40-man roster spot at this time for the Indians.