Indians Designate Evan Marshall
Amidst a flurry of September 1st moves, the Indians announced that they’ve opted to designated right-hander Evan Marshall for assignment in order to make room for fellow righty Jon Edwards, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Columbus.
Marshall, 28, was part of the Tribe’s infamous early-season bullpen shuffle as the club sorted through a host of relievers in order to find some semblance of stability in a bullpen that was then one of the worst in baseball. Of course, Marshall was more a part of the problem than he was a part of the solution for the Indians, as he allowed six earned runs in seven innings for the MLB club. He also walked a quartet of hitters during that time.
There was a reason the Cleveland organization gave him a look, though. His track record at Triple-A was nearly flawless; Marshall posted a sparkling 2.51 FIP across 24 innings with the Columbus Clippers, with an ERA that came out to less than half that figure. However, they apparently didn’t feel it would be worth the opportunity to allow him to sort things out in the majors during September, and he’ll now be available for another club to take a chance on as active roster allotments expand to 40.
August 31st Trade Deadline Recap
A flurry of activity came yesterday in advance of the deadline to acquire postseason-eligible players via trade. In case you weren’t able to keep track of it all, here’s a roundup of the swaps made by MLB organizations on August 31st, 2018, sorted by the team on the acquiring end of the major-leaguer involved.
AL West
- The Athletics received right-hander Cory Gearrin in a swap with the division-rival Rangers. Minor-league righties Abdiel Mendoza and Teodoro Ortega are headed back to Texas in the deal.
AL Central
- The Indians acquired Josh Donaldson from the Blue Jays. Toronto will send $2.7MM to Cleveland as well, and they’ll get back a player to be named later, the quality of which will be dependent upon how Donaldson’s health situation progresses.
AL East
- The Yankees took Adeiny Hechavarria off the Pirates‘ hands in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. It’s not yet known how much cash the Bucs will chip in to help pay the ~$1MM still owed to Hechavarria.
- The Yankees also pried Andrew McCutchen from the Giants. San Francisco gets infield prospect Abiatal Avelino and right-handed pitching prospect Juan De Paula.
NL West
- The Dodgers nabbed David Freese from the Pirates. Infielder Jesus Valdez will head back to Pittsburgh in exchange.
- The Dodgers dealt for Ryan Madson of the Nationals as well. Minors righty Andrew Istler will head to Washington in the trade.
- The Rockies plucked catcher Drew Butera from the Royals and will receive some salary relief in addition. MiLB lefty Jerry Vasto is going back to Colorado.
NL Central
- The Brewers struck a trade with the Nationals for Gio Gonzalez. Milwaukee will also get $250K in international bonus pool funds, while a pair of minor leaguers (first baseman KJ Harrison and shortstop Gilbert Lara) will head to the Nats.
- The Brewers also landed Curtis Granderson in a swap with the Blue Jays. The Jays will cover an unknown portion of the money still owed on Granderson’s $5MM 2018 salary, and will add outfield prospect Demi Orimoloye to their minor-league ranks.
- The busy Brewers got Xavier Cedeno from the White Sox as well, who’ll get outfielder Bryan Connell and right-hander Johan Dominguez in return.
NL East
- (No trades)
Indians Acquire Josh Donaldson
The Blue Jays have officially struck a deal to send star third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Indians, as first reported by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links).
The Jays will get a player to be named later “with some value” while covering some of Donaldson’s remaining salary, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer suggests (on Twitter) that the PTBNL will in some manner be dependent upon Donaldson’s health status. Per the announcement, it’ll be determined by January 30th of next year.
There’s also a significant financial component to this swap. Toronto will pay down $2.7MM of the nearly $4MM still owed to Donaldson for the rest of the season, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Cleveland organization has long been cited as a natural landing spot for Donaldson. With the move, it seems likely that the club will plan to move superstar Jose Ramirez to second base, bumping Jason Kipnis into a utility role. Donaldson adds a potentially significant bat to the lineup, while also boosting the outfield mix by freeing Kipnis to spend time there.
Of course, Donaldson will first need to build up to full health. It had seemed increasingly likely in recent days that he would be moved, as he finally began a rehab assignment after months on the disabled list. Shoulder and, more recently, calf troubles have significantly limited Donaldson this season.
By virtue of the mid-season swap, Donaldson cannot be saddled with a qualifying offer when he enters free agency at season’s end. That also means the Jays will receive only the compensation they ultimately receive in this deal for the loss of a player who has been one of the best in baseball in recent years.
Of course, Donaldson has still been well worth the investment for the Toronto organization. He was acquired for a package that felt light at the time and seems hard to fathom in retrospect. And despite earning relatively hefty salaries through arbitration, he easily outperformed his earnings by slashing a robust .285/.387/.559 with 111 home runs in his first three seasons in Toronto.
Today’s trade, ultimately, was the Jays’ effort to make the best of what had turned into a difficult situation. Thus far in 2018, Donaldson has played in only 36 MLB contests. And he’s carrying only a .234/.333/.423 batting line in 159 plate appearances — a productive enough slash, to be sure, but nothing close to his established performance level. Donaldson’s glovework has also continued to slide, though he still drew approximately average grades in the brief sample this season.
With his large salary in the background, it’s easy to understand why Donaldson cleared waivers and was ultimately moved in this fashion. Of course, some have argued the organization should instead have stayed patient in hopes of making Donaldson a qualifying offer at season’s end. That strategy had some merit, to be sure, but also came with plenty of risk and somewhat limited upside.
For the Indians, there were surely many factors to consider as well. It may be that Donaldson’s performance has been limited all along by the same injuries that ultimately forced him to the sidelines. Perhaps there’s reason to hope that his shoulder woes will have been helped by the fact that he just spent months on ice while dealing with his calf problems. Donaldson has a reputation as a fiery competitor, and has every reason to impress before hitting free agency, so the Indians know that they have a highly motivated player.
Still, it’s not hard to spot the risks that come with this move. When the clock strikes midnight, the Cleveland organization won’t be able to look outside for postseason-eligible players. No doubt the team at least considered alternatives to rolling the dice on Donaldson, who only just began his rehab assignment, but perhaps there weren’t any opportunities that held much appeal.
Certainly, there’s no chance that any other players under serious consideration would have come with Donaldson’s established ceiling. And the Indians, unlike some other contenders, really don’t need to worry about getting him on the field in the immediate future. The club is coasting to an AL Central title while preparing its roster for the postseason. It can more or less use the final weeks of the season as an opportunity to make final evaluations and get a few injured players needed reps without wearing anyone down.
The fact that Kipnis will end up moving into a utility job of some kind no doubt also was considered. We know the club wished to have a left-handed-hitting outfielder capable of playing in center, since the team acquired Leonys Martin before losing him for the year. Though Kipnis really hasn’t hit much over the past two seasons, the team still clearly likes him as a ballplayer and has utilized him up the middle in the outfield — including in the 2017 postseason.
It seems, then, that acquiring Donaldson will not only potentially upgrade the Indians’ lineup, but could plug the hole that reopened when Martin went down. Sensible as it all is when plotted out that way, it remains a fascinating gamble on Donaldson’s ability to stay on the field and rediscover his unquestionably lofty talent level.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Josh Donaldson Out Of Lineup After Clearing Waivers
6:23pm: Toronto is advising other organizations that it expects to trade Donaldson this evening, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links), who adds the Indians and Astros as clubs that have recently “shown interest.”
The Braves, meanwhile, seem “unlikely” to land Donaldson, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).
6:07pm: The Yankees are in on Donaldson but could only take on around half his remaining salary, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. MLB Network Radio’s Steve Phillips had connected the New York organization to Donaldson, via Twitter, while also listing the Cards, Phillies, and Braves as teams still engaged in discussions with Toronto.
4:58pm: Though he had been scheduled to play another rehab game tonight, Donaldson was pulled for reasons unrelated to his physical condition, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets. That seems to hint, at least, that the Jays are taking precautions in the event that an agreement is struck involving the veteran third baseman.
Meanwhile, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said this afternoon that he “would not anticipate” any deals coming together by tonight’s deadline. Of course, that doesn’t rule the team out on Donaldson or other possible targets.
12:17pm: Donaldson has indeed cleared waivers and is eligible to be traded to any team, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets the same, adding that Donaldson is likely to be traded before midnight tonight.
10:33am: The Cardinals have interest in acquiring Josh Donaldson in advance of tonight’s postseason-eligibility deadline, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Morosi adds that the chances of Donaldson being dealt to the Indians are believed to be “slim.”
It’s logical to see St. Louis emerge as a viable suitor for Donaldson, with both Jedd Gyorko and Kolten Wong currently on the disabled list. Neither injury has been characterized as a season-ender, to this point, but with the Cards holding a two-game lead on an NL Wild Card spot and trailing the division-leading Cubs by a matter of 4.5 games, every win is critical. Donaldson is far from a surefire upgrade given that he’s spent three months on the shelf due to a calf injury, though, and Morosi notes that the Cards would need to deem the Blue Jays’ asking price “sufficiently low” in order to move forward on a trade.
Donaldson has played a pair of games on a minor league rehab assignment, homering for Toronto’s Class-A Advanced affiliate yesterday, and he spoke to the Toronto Sun’s Rob Longley about his frustration with his 2018 health issues while also alluding to some frustration with the organization.
“I can’t control what the team wants to do with me,” Donaldson said, though he declined to further delve into his current relationship with the club. “…There’s a lot I can say about that, but I choose not to say anything about it right now. I don’t feel now is the time or the place. It’s one of those things that, as an athlete, I can only control what I can control.”
Donaldson was reportedly placed on revocable trade waivers Tuesday, when he was first eligible for waiver placement. (Major League rules stipulate that injured players must be healthy enough to take the field when run through revocable waivers.) It’s not known yet whether he cleared, though it seems unlikely that a team would place a claim on him when he hasn’t played in a big league game since late May and still has nearly $4MM remaining to be paid out on this season’s $23MM salary.
Donaldson’s very placement on waivers, though, is at least somewhat shrouded in mystery. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that there is “some grey” regarding whether he was actually eligible to go through waivers. Donaldson’s would-be rehab game was rained out Wednesday, but he wasn’t slated to be in the lineup that night due to reported soreness in his calf following Tuesday’s rehab appearance. Certainly, some soreness following a player’s first game action in three months could be expected, but it’s presently unclear whether that would prevent him from meeting the league’s standards as pertains to the health of player being put through the August waiver process.
If the Blue Jays aren’t able to work out a trade of Donaldson (for whatever reason), he’ll return to the club to finish out what has generally been a successful four-year tenure. Donaldson took home American League MVP honors in his first season with the Jays back in 2015 and has batted .281/.383/.548 in 2066 plate appearances since being traded to Toronto in a lopsided deal back in the 2014-15 offseason.
Should Donaldson remain on the roster into September, the Jays will have to weigh whether to issue him a qualifying offer following the year. Doing so would entitle them to draft pick compensation in the event that Donaldson rejects and sign elsewhere. But the organization also runs the risk of the third baseman accepting that one-year offer, which should be for around $18MM, which would create some roster issues for the 2019 season. Toronto is set to turn third base over to uber-prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. next season, and a return from Donaldson would complicate matters. Players who accept the qualifying offer can’t be traded before June 15 the following season without their consent, so it’s not as simple as just trading him this winter in the event that accepts a QO. The Jays could try to make things work by having Donaldson and Guerrero play multiple positions — Donaldson has had cameos at shortstop and first base for the Jays in the past, and either could serve as a DH — but there’s certainly some degree of incentive for the team to work out a trade before tonight’s midnight deadline.
Indians Place Andrew Miller On 10-Day DL
The Indians have placed lefty reliever Andrew Miller on the 10-day disabled list with an external impingement in his left shoulder. Fellow southpaw Tyler Olson was recalled to take the open roster spot.
Details on Miller’s outlook are not yet known, but it’s obviously concerning to see the 33-year-old hitting the shelf yet again. He has already missed time this year, owing to hamstring and knee issues, and has not been quite himself when he has been available.
Through 24 innings on the season, Miller carries a 3.38 ERA with 12.4 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9. Those are still productive numbers, needless to say, but they’re a far cry from the dominant levels at which Miller has performed in recent years. He is still tough to square up, but now owns a 1.292 WHIP in 2018 after averaging a minuscule 0.789 figure since the start of the 2014 season.
There are other less-than-encouraging signs as well. Miller’s 12.4% swinging-strike rate is his lowest level since he first became a full-time reliever in 2012. His average fastball is down to 93.2 mph; it had registered at 95.4 (2016) and 94.5 (2017) in the prior two campaigns.
The DL placement may just be an opportunity to get Miller some added rest, to be fair. It isn’t as if the Indians are desperate to squeeze out wins down the stretch; they’ll understandably be prioritizing his readiness for the postseason. Still, it’s not exactly promising that the move was deemed necessary, particularly given the general struggles exhibited this season by the Cleveland relief corps.
Central Notes: Tribe, Ramirez, Votto, Cubs
Here’s the latest from MLB’s Central divisions:
- Cleveland has come up as a speculative trade destination for Toronto’s Josh Donaldson, and if the Indians acquire him or another third baseman this month, it would mean shifting Jose Ramirez from the hot corner to second base. However, manager Terry Francona threw some cold water on a potential in-season position change for Ramirez on Sunday, telling Jordan Bastian of MLB.com: “I know it sounds good on paper and it even sounds good to me on paper. There’s other things you have to think about other than just numbers.” Francona added that Ramirez hasn’t worked out at second base this season, which he posited may make the superstar more susceptible to an injury, and suggested switching positions at this juncture could throw Ramirez off track during an MVP-caliber season. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting Ramirez did rack up significant experience at the keystone last year, when he appeared in 71 games at the position. Incumbent second base starter Jason Kipnis has appeared in 118 games there this season, but he has limped to a .216/.305/.345 line in 493 plate appearances, leading to the possibility of the Tribe upgrading at that spot.
- The right knee contusion that sent Reds first baseman Joey Votto to the disabled list on Aug. 17 is “way worse” than the team originally thought, manager Jim Riggleman told Matthew Martell of MLB.com and other reporters Sunday. As such, Votto may not be ready to come off the DL when he’s first eligible, per Riggleman, though he did add that the 34-year-old has made notable progress since he landed on the shelf. Votto incurred the injury on a hit by pitch from Nationals reliever Ryan Madson.
- Beginning Friday, the Cubs will employ a six-man rotation, at least temporarily, manager Joe Maddon said Sunday (via Bruce Levine of 670 The Score). Alec Mills will stay among the starting staff after turning in a solid outing against Cincinnati this past Friday, and lefty Mike Montgomery will soon come off the DL – where he has been since Aug. 17 because of shoulder inflammation – to rejoin the group. With the Cubs amid a stretch in which they’re playing 23 straight games without an off day, the decision will provide a respite for top starters Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana as the playoffs approach.
Quick Hits: Allen, Holliday, Cease
Last night, Indians reliever Cody Allen‘s year-long struggles continued as he blew a save against the cellar-dwelling Royals. Allen’s latest collapse on the mound, during which he gave up back-to-back homers to a pair of rookies, prompted Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer to address whether or not the newly-acquired Brad Hand ought to be given the full-time closer job. While Hoynes does more spitballing than actual answering of the question, he does quote manager Terry Francona at one point, who says that “I’ll sit down and talk to him again because we need him. We can’t run from Cody. We need him really bad to win. So we’ll visit a little bit.” From my perspective, Allen may not only be pitching himself out of his “closer” job, but also out of a potential qualifying offer at season’s end, which he seemed a near lock to warrant at the outset of the 2018 season. That’d be bad news for a small-market Cleveland ballclub that would surely like to be rewarded for his departure with a compensatory draft pick.
A couple of items from elsewhere around the league…
- 38-year-old Matt Holliday‘s return to the Rockies became official last night, as he played left field against the Padres last night. After lingering on the free agent market all last winter in hopes of securing a major-league contract, Holliday recently joined the Rockies on a minor league pact and demolished Triple-A pitching en route to a call-up to help the MLB club, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post details in his latest piece. “I’m here to help the team in any way possible,” Holliday said of his return to the majors. “I’m just here to be part of the team and do everything I can to impact the team, as best I can.” The seven-time All-Star feels as though he’s in excellent shape, in part thanks to his tune-up in the minors. For his part, manager Bud Black is happy to have both Holliday’s playing ability and leadership in the fold as the team pushes for a playoff berth.
- The White Sox have opted to shut down one of their top pitching prospects for the season, James Fegan of The Athletic reports via Twitter. However, the decision isn’t related to any sort of injury. Rather, Dylan Cease has simply reached an innings threshold that the organization doesn’t wish to push him past. The 22-year-old right-hander has tossed 124 innings combined between Chicago’s High-A and Double-A affiliates, which exceeds his career high workload by about 30. Cease hasn’t faced much resistance in his ascension, posting a 1.72 ERA with Double-A Birmingham this season while racking up a whopping 78 strikeouts in just 52 1/3 innings pitched.
Injury Notes: Chapman, Judge, Sale, Santana, Goody, Iwakuma
Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman went in for a platelet-rich plasma treatment on his ailing left knee, David Lennon of Newsday tweets. Skipper Aaron Boone indicated that the plan is to reevaluate the high-powered lefty in two weeks’ time. That’s a bit less promising than the initial suggestion that Chapman could be back after the minimum ten-day DL stint, though there’s no indication as of yet that there’s any real concern that the injury could carry over into the postseason. For a Yankees team that is all but locked into a Wild Card play-in game, getting Chapman up to full speed by the end of September is of much greater importance than having him available for the final month of the regular season.
- Meanwhile, the Yankees are still waiting for a breakthrough from star outfielder Aaron Judge. As Boone stated, and MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweeted, the team has “stopped guessing” as to when Judge’s fractured wrist will be in good enough shape to allow him to resume swinging. In this case, perhaps, there’s a bit more reason to be anxious. It has been a long layoff for Judge, after all, and he’ll want to get as many plate appearances as possible before October arrives. Clearly, though, there’s not much the team can do but wait and hope the wrist improves.
- The news is slightly more promising — though no less clear — on Red Sox southpaw Chris Sale. He’s “doing better” and “getting close,” per Boston manger Alex Cora, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports on Twitter. With a healthy division lead, the Boston organization is in no need of Sale’s services for the next five weeks. But he’s essential to the team’s World Series hopes, so getting his balky shoulder sorted out is a top priority.
- The injured finger of Twins hurler Ervin Santana won’t require surgery, skipper Paul Molitor said and Phil Miller of the Star-Tribune tweeted. That said, the veteran is going to remain shut down until “doctors come up with a plan.” With the Twins’ season sunk and Santana not looking himself since making a brief return to the majors, the objective here is to set him up as well as possible for the future rather than rushing him back in 2018. While no decision has been made as to whether Santana will pitch again for the Twins this year, it could well be that he has already taken the mound for the club for the last time. Minnesota is unlikely to pick up its $14MM option over the right-hander, who will presumably be a popular bounceback target in the offseason to come.
- Indians righty Nick Goody isn’t in need of a new ulnar collateral ligament, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets, but he is headed in for some kind of procedure. That’s rather promising news, given that the 27-year-old was making the rounds to several noted surgeons recently. Goody has missed much of the 2018 season with arm woes, making for a disappointing follow-up to his strong 2017 performance. Last year, Goody worked to a 2.80 ERA with 11.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 54 2/3 frames. He had been on track to reach arbitration via Super Two status this fall. While he’ll have enough MLB service time to reach it, he won’t be eligible since he has not spent 86 days on the active roster this season.
- It seems the Mariners and Hisashi Iwakuma haven’t given up entirely on the veteran hurler this year. Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto said in a regular appearance on 710 ESPN (write-up via Brent Stecker) that the 37-year-old is nearing a rehab stint, in fact, though it doesn’t sound as if there’s particular cause for optimism that he’ll be a real factor this year. Iwakuma only made six starts in 2017 and hasn’t made it back to competitive action this season. Still, Dipoto suggested he’d do everything possible to get him up to the majors as a reliever down the stretch.
Leonys Martin Will Not Return In 2018
The Indians officially announced today that outfielder Leonys Martin will not return to the playing field in 2018. Manager Terry Francona delivered the news to reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian) but indicated that Martin is recovering well from a life-threatening bacterial infection and has not experienced any type of setback. Doctors have instructed him to focus on his immediate health rather than getting back into baseball shape, however.
Martin’s recovery is a welcome sight for his current and former teammates alike, as well as fans throughout the game. And while that’s clearly the most important element of this story, his absence does leave the Cleveland organization with a rather thin outfield mix — especially after placing Rajai Davis on the 10-day disabled list earlier today. The reasoning behind Davis’ placement on the disabled list is curious in its own right, as the team attributed it to a non-baseball medical condition without going into further detail. Bastian, though, tweets that Davis is expected to return to the team in early September.
With Davis sidelined in the short term and Martin unable to return at all this year, Cleveland’s outfield currently consists of Michael Brantley in left field, Greg Allen in center and Melky Cabrera in right. Brandon Guyer is on hand as a fourth outfield option, but the rest of the roster has sparing outfield experience at best. Jason Kipnis, Yandy Diaz and Erik Gonzalez have all appeared in the outfield in recent seasons, though that group has combined for a total of just 108 innings there. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote last night that the Indians are still on the hunt for outfield upgrades on the August trade market, so it’s possible that Cleveland will still supplement that group.
Looking down the line, Martin’s season-ending illness doesn’t necessarily bring his time with the Indians organization to an end. He’ll have five-plus years of big league service at the end of the year but won’t reach six full years, so Cleveland will have the opportunity to retain him via arbitration. Martin was earning an affordable $1.75MM base salary this season and posted a solid .255/.323/.425 slash with considerably above-average defensive marks in the outfield. Given that level of play, the Indians should have plenty of interest in retaining Martin barring any setbacks in his recovery that would cloud his outlook for the 2019 season.
Injury Notes: Upton, Abreu, Garcia, Ervin, Goody, Chisenhall
The Angels announced Tuesday that they’ve placed outfielder Justin Upton on the 10-day disabled list due to a laceration on his index finger. Jack Magruder of MLB.com writes that Upton required stitches after he sustained a severe cut at his home on a wine glass that had broken. Upton expressed frustration and regret over incurring an off-field injury in this manner, though it sounds as if he’ll only require a short-term absence from the team. The Angels aren’t contending for the postseason anyhow, but Upton would surely like to be on the field competing and pursuing a third consecutive 30-homer season. The slugger is in the first season of a five-year, $106MM extension with the Angels and has batted .267/.352/.474 with 26 big flies on the year.
Some more injury news from around the league…
- The White Sox will be without Jose Abreu for the next two weeks after he underwent outpatient surgery on his groin area, writes Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Abreu reported to Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday complaining of pain in his abdomen and was hospitalized prior to the start of the game. He figures to be formally placed on the 10-day disabled list tomorrow, giving the Sox an open roster spot. The ChiSox also lost Leury Garcia to a Grade 2 hamstring strain that could end his season, as he’s projected to miss anywhere from three to six weeks with the injury.
- There’s heightened “concern” regarding Ervin Santana following the right-hander’s visit with a hand specialist, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Twins skipper Paul Molitor told reporters that Santana is slated to undergo followup x-rays and an MRI to further determine the extent of the damage in his still-ailing right middle finger. The organization isn’t sure whether Santana will return in 2018, but Molitor said that it’s looking “less likely.” Santana has made just five starts in 2018 and struggled to an 8.03 ERA after undergoing surgery on that finger back in February. The Twins hold a $14MM club option on him, but given his injuries and poor performance, that seems unlikely to be exercised.
- The Indians could welcome Edwin Encarnacion back to the lineup as soon as Thursday, writes MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, but they’ve received less encouraging news on outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall and right-hander Nick Goody. Chisenhall hasn’t progressed as quickly as the team would’ve hoped as he rehabs a severe calf strain and is still working his way back at the team’s Spring Training facility in Arizona, per manager Terry Francona. Goody, meanwhile, suffered a setback in his rehab from an elbow injury. He’s been shelved for three and a half months and is slated to meet with Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. James Andrews later this week.