The Indians announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Mike Freeman from Triple-A Columbus and optioned fellow infielder Eric Stamets to Triple-A Columbus in his place. A corresponding 40-man move wasn’t required, as Cleveland had only 39 players on its 40-man.
Freeman, 31, has seen sparse action in the Majors in each of the past three seasons (including one lone plate appearance with the Cubs in 2018), hitting a combined .134/.211/.207 across 91 plate appearances. Lackluster as that small-sample output may be, Freeman is an accomplished Triple-A hitter, as evidenced by a lifetime .305/.372/.418 slash through 2030 PAs at that level. While he’s light on power, Freeman has consistently managed to hit for average and get on base at the top minor league level. He’s walked in 9.2 percent of those 2030 PAs in Triple-A and kept his strikeout rate to a relatively low 16.8 percent.
Track record aside, Freeman needn’t do much to give the Indians at least a modest uptick in offensive production. The 27-year-old Stamets made his big league debut on Opening Day this season and has seen regular work in 15 games. However, he’s collected just two hits and five walks in 48 trips to the plate, resulting in a disheartening .049/.149/.073 slash in his first look at MLB pitching. As a glove-first player, there’s perhaps hope that Stamets could eventually fill a utility spot with the organization, but he looked decidedly overmatched in trying to step into some enormous shoes with Francisco Lindor on the shelf.
Thankfully for Cleveland fans, there’s hope on the horizon with regard to Lindor; the star shortstop embarked on a Triple-A rehab assignment tonight.
He totally reminds me of brad Hand
If Kluber and Hand had a kid…..
I can’t unsee that now
Lmao
Haha
You basically DFA Miller for this guy?!
Fair point, and still kind of a head-scratcher
No, they DFAed Miller for Kipnis……Miller can’t play SS.
I wouldn’t say Freeman is a natural there though, either. He does offer more positional flexibility than both Miller and Stamets
Must have really not liked Miller at shortstop. His defensive metrics ARE worse there, but he was no great shakes at second, either.
I don’t really understand these two moves.
Typical penny pinching move by this terrible organization,
By swapping a rookie deal player for a veteran on a low contract as well?
Are you really THAT upset with the Indians cutting Brad Miller?.. If they didn’t like him at short, he was just going to sit on the bench and then would be DFA’d once Lindor returns.
thank god stamets is gone
Lindor seems like he should be back soon. Couldn’t let Miller or Moroff stand at SS for a few games?
I think that’s actually why they made this move. Moroff will probably be the starting shortstop for the next few games; I’d imagine Freeman is just there to take his spot as the utility guy.
making this move after cutting Miller is really cruel, and just shows how much Cleveland wants to save a dollar.
I’ve said for years, they are a terrible organization that is lucky to be in the weak division they are in. .
Have to agree. I don’t blame Stamets or Freeman who are both lucky to be employed by any organization. The CLE front office bypassed the bottom of the barrel and scooped these guys up from under the barrel. They know these guys couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat, but they still run them out there in the name of saving a few thousand (not million) bucks.
They’re low paid utility players temporarily filling in. Linder is among the best in the game and Kipnis not going anywhere with his salary. So signing a high priced fill in makes absolutely zero sense. The role of Miller, Moroff, Stamets or Freeman is interchangeable with any other team and the low priced backups. Painting this as a cheap organization move makes zero sense here.
Why not Ryan Flaherty, who offers the ability to play all infield positions, and is actually hitting at Columbus?
My guess is that they know they’d DFA whoever they promoted when Lindor comes back anyway, so they’d probably rather keep Flaherty in the organization in case they need him for longer than lose him in a few days. I can’t answer for sure though.
I’d definitely rather have Flaherty than Max Less-off as the utility man.
Oh me too, but the Indians seem to disagree for whatever reason
Flaherty would have to be released once Lindor came back (or Moroff DFA’d). Freeman actually has an option left, which means they can keep him in Columbus and possibly keep him around if either Kipnis or Lindor have injuries flare up. Calf injuries tend to do that, so it’s not surprising to see them want to keep some flexibility.
I choose DFA Moroff. I doubt anyone else would claim him. At least Flaherty offers more experience and flexibility.
Just passing time until frankie comes back
Mike Freeman’s nickname should be Mr. Coffee.