The Indians have claimed righty A.J. Cole off waivers from the Yankees, per club announcements. Brandon Warne of Zone Coverage first tweeted the news.
Cole, who recently turned 27, had failed to catch on with the Nationals before landing with the Yanks last year. He carved out a role in the New York bullpen, where he worked to a 4.26 ERA in 38 innings over 28 appearances. The out-of-options hurler could function as a long man for a Cleveland org that is looking for ways to improve on the cheap.
There were certainly some positives last year, as Cole worked off of a mid-nineties fastball and logged 11.6 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 with the Yankees. He continued to struggle with the long ball, though, and has allowed nearly two per nine innings during his 148 career innings in the majors.
Wish Cole nothing but success in Cleveland. He actually pitched better than his ERA would lead you to believe once he got to NYY.
No. Lol. He sucked his last 10 appearances
Yes, but several were excellent prior to that
Ayy
Thought they might get him.
Better chance of fixing him were Callahan still there.
Carl Willis has a long track record as a pitching coach…..
Spotty. Mostly shades of awful. Cliff Lee got fed-up one year. Over the winter he hired his own pitching coach. Won the Cy Young the next season.
Thanks for that insider account, Sammy!
@ ryno;
Insider account?
I read and heard about it from following the NE Ohio sports media via the Internet. Was an open story. Cliff Lee wanted out of there for years before they traded him.
Who’s Callahan? Dirty Harry Callahan? Yeah, he’d really fix him…..for good.
Make my day
No, Bo Callahan. None of his pitchers showed up to his birthday party.
Getting out of NY, and the East in general, should help limit the HR’s a bit I would think.
Prob much better in that weak division and better pitching ballparks
I will not miss the whiplash.
I was hoping Cole would get claimed by the Pirates so I didn’t feel out of date with my jersey.
The peripheral numbers alone were enough to take a flyer on, but he’s still young and at least has the pedigree of being a former top prospect. I like the Indians’ strategy of throwing a bunch of low-risk relief arms at the wall and seeing what sticks; every year they seem to come up with a meaningful contributor that way, and hopefully that continues.
Seems like most teams like that approach, other than the dodgers, Yankees, cubs, cards, A’s and oddly enough the Rockies who pay big for bullpen pieces..
Good move Cleveland. Definitely Cleveland should take a look at Hunter Pence. He could play left or right field.
Hope he does well but Indians fans will tire of him quickly
Thank you for taking Boone’s toy away.
Lolol are so right!
It is nice to see all the positive stories about Cole’s stuff. I’m sure that is why the Indians picked him up, but I’m given his option situation, I’m skeptical that he makes the team.
Sounds like they found their new McAllister…
Does he give up more home runs than Tomlin?
Stay classy!
Less home runs?
@Samuel – stay ignorant.
That’s a negative. NO ONE gives up more HRs than the tiny cowboy. I was at a Columbus AAA game last year and watched him get rocked. Absolutely mauled by a bunch of minor leaguers. Horrific to watch.
He said Tiny Cowboy
I’m surprised he made it through the waiver wire far enough for the Indians to claim him. I mean why wouldn’t the Orioles, royals, Marlin’s, etc take a flyer on him. He is still young enough that he has upside. Don’t the pirates typically turn someone like him into a quality piece of the rotation.
AJ Cole
Bay bay
Bye Felicia!
Thank heavens he’s gone