The Rays are picking up outfielder Jordan Luplow and reliever DJ Johnson from the Indians, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Pitching prospect Peyton Battenfield is heading back to Cleveland.
Originally a third-round draft pick of the Pirates back in 2014, Luplow found himself on the way to Cleveland after two relatively anonymous seasons with the Pirates. The trade came in November, 2018, sending Luplow and Max Moroff to Cleveland for Dante Mendoza, Tahnaj Thomas, and Erik Gonzalez. He had a career .194/.274/.371 line in 190 plate appearances when he left Pittsburgh, but he quickly unlocked a new level of production in Cleveland.
Luplow hasn’t played in the Majors for the Indians since May 26th because of a left ankle sprain. He has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus for the past 10 days, however, so he’s likely near ready to return to the big league club, should the Rays need him there. He does have an option remaining, and with Manuel Margot and Brett Phillips backing up Kevin Kiermaier, Randy Arozarena, and Austin Meadows, manager Kevin Cash may not have an immediate need for Luplow.
More to come.
That’ll show em
under the radar trade, Luplow mashes lefties and the Rays needed serious help in that department
He did mash lefties briefly in 2019
All he’s mashed lately are potatoes.
A steal for the Guardians.
He’ll be a Shane Bieber within 1-2 years.
Wtf is Tampa doing giving up a prospect with those numbers for two borderline DFA candidates?
I guess he is old for his level though
Call them that bulls*t one more time…
He’s a relief pitcher, and looks like a good one at that.
He’s been a starter this year with a ton of success. I think they’ll let him start until he proves he can’t.
That would be nice. Not like he’s got much standing in his way. Maybe this means they can stop trying to make starters out of obvious relievers?
Outside of Jose Ramirez, Cleveland is in desperate need of players who can both bat and field.
Johnson’s a good get
Hey darkside, just curious, how do you feel about the phillies deadline? They made some decent moves in my opinion
wouldve liked another SP but otherwise DD made a great pair of moves. Crouse is a very exciting get imo.
Indians traded 5 off the 40 man and only need to add staw. This helps relieve the rule 5 crunch.
Yeppers.
While I don’t like being a seller, Antonetti always does what he has to do for the team. I just wish he had a little more money to play with. Be that as it may, it’s nice to see him address the 40 man issue. Hopefully some of these kids work out for the Indians (and the “new” team)
Does the rays front office know that they’re in contention?
DJ Johnson was an easy DFA candidate for me. They got him on a minor league deal, and someone else probably will this winter too. I personally like Luplow and he showed the ability to be more than a platoon guy this year before getting injured, but if they see him as another Ryan Raburn and not an everyday hitter, then it makes sense to move him while he has value.
The Indians knew they’d run out of upper level pitching depth, so to get Pilkington and especially Battenfield for guys that aren’t in their plans makes a lot of sense. Straw will be on the roster next year, but now they need to give at bats to Zimmer, Mercado, and Daniel Johnson to see if any of them are worth keeping either.
DJ Johnson is going to be playing the 1s and 2s in Tampa
I can see Cash getting more out of Johnson than the Tribe could.
And it still won’t be anything of note. He’s just a no name reliever