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Indians Select Beau Taylor, Designate James Hoyt

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The Indians have selected catcher Beau Taylor, designated right-hander James Hoyt for assignment and optioned outfielder Daniel Johnson, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com reports.

Taylor, formerly an Athletics prospect whom the Indians signed to a minor league contract last offseason, is up as insurance as the the Indians await word on Roberto Perez. The Indians’ starting backstop and one of their most valuable contributors a year ago, Perez is dealing with right shoulder soreness at the moment. They should know more on his condition Wednesday, but for now, they’re down to Taylor and former Red Sox starter Sandy Leon as their top two catchers.

Since he debuted in the majors with the Astros in 2016, the 33-year-old Hoyt has amassed 80 innings – including 8 1/3 during his first season in Cleveland in 2019 – and put up a 4.16 ERA/3.92 FIP with 11.7 K/9 and 2.92 BB/9. Notably, Hoyt carries a rather impressive track record in Triple-A, where he has logged a 3.09 ERA with 12.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 over 218 2/3 frames. And considering Hoyt has another minor league option remaining, it wouldn’t be particularly surprising to see another team take a chance on him.

Indians Place Tyler Naquin On IL, Recall Zach Plesac, Outright Hunter Wood

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The Indians made a series of roster moves today, most notably the placement (retroactive to July 22) of outfielder Tyler Naquin on the 10-day injured list due to a fractured toe.  Right-hander Zach Plesac was called up to take Naquin’s spot, getting an early promotion to the active roster since Plesac is scheduled to start Tuesday’s game.  In other moves, right-hander Hunter Wood was outrighted off the 40-man roster and assigned to the Tribe’s minor league camp.

Naquin suffered the injury on Monday after fouling a pitch off his foot during an exhibition game.  Cleveland already called up Daniel Johnson for outfield depth while Naquin was recovering, but it appears Naquin will need more time to get back to full health.  The hairline fracture is just the latest injury to befall Naquin, whose 2018 and 2019 seasons were both cut short by hip surgery and a torn ACL, respectively.  Since finishing third in AL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2016, Naquin has only appeared in 169 games due to both injuries and inconsistency at the plate, though he posted a solid .288/.325/.467 slash line over 294 PA in 2019.

With Naquin out, Cleveland has Johnson, Greg Allen, Jordan Luplow, Bradley Zimmer, Franmil Reyes, and Domingo Santana as available options for the corner outfield slots, though Reyes ismore likely to be kept in designated hitter duty.  Since the club thought Naquin might be able to avoid an IL stint altogether, that could imply he might be able to return after only the minimum ten days, or perhaps not long beyond.

Wood was designated for assignment on Thursday, and will now remain in the organization after clearing waivers.  Acquired in a trade with the Rays last summer, Wood has a 3.32 ERA, 2.70 K/BB rate, and 8.4 K/9 over 86 2/3 career innings with Cleveland and Tampa Bay, though the home run ball has given him some issues during his brief time in the big leagues.  As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted at the time of the move, it was rather surprising that the Tribe chose to DFA Wood, and it is perhaps even more surprising that none of the other 29 teams put in a claim while the righty was on waivers.

Predict The AL Central Division Winner

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With final roster decisions in the books and the 2020 season underway at long last, it’s time to make some predictions. We’ll poll the MLBTR readership on each of the game’s six divisions — though plenty more teams will crack the postseason under the rather inclusive new playoff qualification system.

There’s rather an interesting dynamic in the American League Central division this year. The Twins stepped up in 2019 and have added Josh Donaldson to an already potent lineup. They’ll try to hold off the Indians, who had previously enjoyed a stranglehold on the division and have some of the best core talent around. There’s no denying the immense potential that resides on the White Sox roster, which features both elite youngsters and newly inked quality veterans. The Royals feel they’ve got quick bounceback potential after a few down seasons; if a few players hit their ceilings, perhaps they could surprise. It’s harder to see a path for the Tigers, but they’ve also got a load of elite young hurlers pushing into the majors and will enter the season determined to make strides.

Which team do you think is the best of the bunch? (Poll link for app users.)

Indians Designate Hunter Wood For Assignment

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The Indians announced this morning in setting their 30-man roster for Opening Day that right-hander Hunter Wood has been designated for assignment. The organization needed a 40-man space to clear way for the selection of righty Dominic Leone, infielder Mike Freeman and right-hander Cam Hill.

Wood, 26, has plenty of success with the Rays in his first season-plus at the MLB level before being traded to Cleveland alongside Christian Arroyo last summer. He posted decent numbers with the Indians following the trade and carries a career 3.32 ERA and 4.04 FIP in 86 2/3 MLB frames, so it’s a bit of a surprise to see him on the outside looking in. It’s quite possible that another club with more questionable bullpen depth will have interest in swinging a deal for Wood, who has high-end spin and above-average velocity on his four-seamer. Barring that, he could generate interest on the waiver wire.

Cleveland will have a week to either trade Wood, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him, although it’s tough to envision the latter of the three.

Dominic Leone, Mike Freeman, Cam Hill Make Indians’ Opening Day Roster

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The Indians have informed several players, including three who aren’t currently on the 40-man roster, that they’ve made the Opening Day club, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets. Right-handers Dominic Leone, Cam Hill, James Karinchak and Phil Maton; infielders Mike Freeman, Yu Chang and Christian Arroyo; and outfielders Greg Allen and Bradley Zimmer have all made the roster to begin the year. Leone, Hill and Freeman will each need to be added to the 40-man roster.

The team has also informed a quartet of players that they won’t open the year on the 30-man roster. That includes first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers and righties Jefry Rodriguez, James Hoyt and Hunter Wood. That Wood won’t be on the Opening Day roster is of particular note, as he is out of minor league options and thus cannot be sent down to alternate camp without first being run through outright waivers.

It seems likely, then, that some form of 40-man move involving Wood will help to pave the way for the three non-roster players who’ve made the squad. Cleveland currently has 39 players on the 40-man roster, and Delino DeShields isn’t counting against the group either while on the Covid-19 injured list.

The 28-year-old Leone has the most big league experience of the bunch, having logged 243 1/3 innings of relief dating back to his MLB debut with the Mariners in 2014. Leone’s past two seasons with the Cardinals went poorly, as he worked to a combined 5.15 ERA and 4.77 FIP in 64 2/3 frames, but the righty was excellent for the Jays as recently as 2017, when he pitched 70 2/3 innings with a 2.56 ERA and better than 10 punchouts per nine frames. In all, Leone joins the Indians’ bullpen with a career 3.92 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 1.15 HR/9 and a 43.6 percent grounder rate.

Freeman, who’ll turn 33 early next month, should be a familiar face for Cleveland fans after suiting up for 75 games there in 2019. Last year with the Indians, Freeman played second base, shortstop, third base, left field and even pitched two innings. Along the way, Freeman hit .272/.362/.390 with four homers and eight doubles — good for a 97 OPS+. That’s a solid showing from a part-time player, and although he had to work his way back on another minor league deal, Freeman clearly impressed the club enough to stick around as a depth piece.

Hill, meanwhile, has never pitched in the Majors, so this’ll mark the 26-year-old’s debut season. A 17th-round pick by the Indians back in 2014, Hill has just a 4.81 ERA in 43 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level but impressed the club with a strong effort this spring (five innings, one run) and summer. He ranked near the back of the organization’s top prospect list at FanGraphs this year, where Eric Longenhagen wrote that Hill has “nasty” stuff but sub-par control that causes some concern.

Wood, 26, has plenty of success with the Rays in his first season-plus at the MLB level before being traded to Cleveland alongside Arroyo last summer. He posted decent numbers with the Indians following the trade and carries a career 3.32 ERA and 4.04 FIP in 86 2/3 MLB frames, so it’s a bit of a surprise to see him on the outside looking in. It’s quite possible that another club with more questionable bullpen depth would have interest in swinging a deal for Wood, who has high-end spin and above-average velocity on his four-seamer. Barring that, he could generate interest on the waiver wire.

Indians Set Rotation

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The Indians have set their rotation to open the 2020 season, manager Terry Francona told reporters including MLB.com’s Mandy Bell (Twitter link). Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac have made the five-man unit.

That decision leaves righty Adam Plutko on the outside looking in. He’ll jump into the relief unit to begin the season. With the short run-up to the season, there ought to be plenty of frames to go around.

The 28-year-old Plutko made twenty starts for the Indians last year, working to a 4.86 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. He had a lot of ground to make up to catch the other two hurlers.

Both Civale and Plesac are 25-year-old righties who debuted with aplomb in 2019. The former limited opponents to 2.34 earned per nine in his first ten starts. The latter posted a 3.81 ERA in 115 2/3 frames.

In both cases, there’s some cause to question the repeatability of the output. Civale benefited from a .250 BABIP-against, though Statcast suggests he has a real skill for inducing soft contact — related, no doubt, to his exceptional spin rates. Plesac’s own .255 BABIP-against doesn’t seem quite as sustainable. Opposing hitters produced a .315 wOBA against him last year, but Statcast spit out a far-less-promising .343 xwOBA based upon the quality of contact.

George Kontos Retires

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Longtime major league reliever George Kontos has hung up his cleats, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. The 35-year-old Kontos hasn’t pitched since the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate released him last August, but he will stay in baseball as an analyst with NBC Sports Bay Area.

“I did have some inclinations from early on when I was a player in San Francisco that one day this might be the route that I would take,” Kontos told Pavlovic on the Giants Insider Podcast. “It’s definitely nice to be coming back to the black and orange and being around San Francisco again.”

The right-handed Kontos was a fifth-round pick of the Yankees in 2006, but the majority of his work as a big leaguer came as a member of the Giants. He notched quality results with the club from 2012-17 – a 309 2/3-inning span in which he logged a 3.05 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.06 BB/9. Kontos was also part of a pair of World Series-winning Giants teams.

Along with the Yankees (with whom he debuted in 2011 and spent time with again in 2018) and Giants, Kontos saw major league action with the Pirates and Indians. All told, he amassed 357 innings of 3.10 ERA ball in the bigs over parts of eight seasons. MLBTR congratulates Kontos on a successful career and wishes him the best in his new role.

Indians Ink First-Rounder Tanner Burns

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The Indians have a deal in place with supplemental first-round selection Tanner Burns, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (Twitter link). It’s a $1.6MM bonus that falls shy of the $2,045,400 slot allocation that came with the 36th pick.

Burns drew first-round grades from several pundits, with Baseball America, The Athletic, and MLB.com all ranking him among the thirty best players available. ESPN.com and Fangraphs were somewhat less bullish but still saw him as at least a second-round player.

Though he isn’t viewed as possessing overwhelming upside, Burns is seen as having a starter’s arsenal with excellent fastball command. It seems that long-term durability represents the biggest question, though it’s based more on his lack of height (he’s 6’0) than on a particularly concerning history of injuries (though there have been some shoulder woes).

Indians Place Delino DeShields On IL

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The Indians announced that they have placed outfielder Delino DeShields on the 10-day injured list. The team didn’t give a reason for DeShields’ IL placement, but it’s worth noting he recently tested positive for COVID-19.

DeShields’ positive test forced him to sit out the beginning of Summer Camp, though he did fly to Cleveland last week after a negative test and take batting practice at Progressive Field on Saturday. However, the 27-year-old had not been cleared to rejoin the Indians for instrasquad workouts at that point, as Joe Noga of cleveland.com notes.

The hope is that DeShields will return to the field as soon as possible, but considering what he has gone through in recent weeks, it seems unlikely he’ll be ready to make his Indians debut when their regular season commences on July 24. The 27-year-old was a key offseason pickup by Cleveland, which acquired him from Texas in a trade for two-time American League Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.

Even without DeShields, the Indians have no shortage of options in the outfield. Oscar Mercado, Jordan Luplow, Tyler Naquin, Greg Allen, Jake Bauers, Domingo Santana, Daniel Johnson and Bradley Zimmer are among the team’s other choices in the grass, but as is the case with the light-hitting DeShields, most or all of those players come with question marks.

Coronavirus Notes: Astros, Diekman, Teheran, Indians

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Astros superstar Alex Bregman had to sit out Wednesday’s practice because the results of his latest coronavirus test did not arrive on time, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle relays. “I look forward to having the issue resolved as soon as possible to rejoin my teammates tomorrow,” Bregman stated. Meanwhile, teammate and outfielder Michael Brantley expressed frustration with the league’s testing problems, saying “[players] kind of want answers.” He added, “I’d love to hear from Rob (Manfred) and some clarity on how we’re going to get this done because that’s very important.” Houston’s among a few teams slowed early in Summer Camp by testing delays, further calling into question whether MLB is capable of pulling off this season.

  • Like Brantley, Athletics reliever Jake Diekman is unhappy with how the league has handled the testing process. There’s plenty at stake for Diekman – the 33-year-old has battled ulcerative colitis for most of his life and underwent surgery to remove his colon in 2017, putting him in greater danger of contracting the virus. Diekman told Alex Coffey of The Athletic: “I’m high-risk, so I have to speak out for everyone. I don’t want to get sick.” He went on to question MLB’s estimate of how many players have tested positive, opining that it must “be getting close to 100.” And while Diekman doesn’t want to opt out of the season, he’s skeptical that one will even happen. “Once the regular season hits, there’s no way I’m opting out,” he said. “But if they don’t get the testing figured out, this whole thing will get shut down. That’s my personal opinion.” Coffey’s piece is worth a full read, as there’s plenty more on the concerns Diekman and his wife, Amanda, have in regards to a potential season.
  • The Angels placed right-hander Julio Teheran on the 10-day injured list earlier this week, but even manager Joe Maddon was uncertain of the reason. It turns out that Teheran’s still in Atlanta – where he pitched previously – because he and his family have shown symptoms consistent with COVID-19, he told Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (Spanish-language link). Teheran revealed he “was not feeling well,” but he’s hopeful of joining his team in Los Angeles this weekend if he gets the go-ahead. Regardless, with the campaign just two weeks away, Maddon’s not sure if Teheran will be available from the jump (via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com), as the skipper observed that “it would probably be a rush” to place him in the Angels’ season-opening rotation.
  • Indians outfielder Delino DeShields tested positive for the coronavirus last week, but it looks as if he’s on the road to recovery. DeShields’ most recent test came back negative, and he’s on his way to Cleveland as a result, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com reports. If he tests negative again there, he’ll be able to join his teammates for Summer Camp. [JULY 11 UPDATE: DeShields indeed tested negative for the second time, and rejoined the Tribe’s camp.]  More good news: Slugger Franmil Reyes returned to practice Wednesday after testing negative. The Indians held Reyes out of camp for two days amid worries that he contracted the illness at a July 4 party.
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