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Minor MLB Transactions: 5/29/18

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Here are Tuesday’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Indians announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Myles Jaye from the Twins in exchange for cash. He’ll join the rotation for Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate in Columbus, per the announcement. The 26-year-old Jaye made his MLB debut with the Tigers last season but was rocked for 17 earned runs on 18 hits and 10 walks in 12 2/3 innings at the MLB level. Jaye, a former 17th-round pick (Blue Jays, 2010), has a solid track record of preventing runs at the Triple-A level (3.81 ERA, 141 2/3 innings). He’s off to a decent start in Triple-A this year, having pitched to a 4.25 ERA in 42 1/3 frames — albeit with a middling 19-to-15 K/BB ratio in that time. With Adam Plutko and Shane Bieber emerging as rotation options at the MLB level, the addition of Jaye will give the Cleveland organization some additional depth.
  • The White Sox have signed left-hander Jairo Labourt, per an announcement from the team’s Double-A affiliate (hat tip: The Athletic’s James Fegan, on Twitter). The lefty has bounced all over the league since being designated for assignment by the Tigers in March when the team signed Francisco Liriano. Labourt went from Detroit to Cincinnati to Oakland via waivers before being released by the A’s, after which he returned to the Tigers. He didn’t pitch for a Tigers affiliate this year, though, before once again being cut loose. Labourt, once a fairly well-regarded prospect who went from Toronto to Detroit as part of the David Price blockbuster, has developed some alarming control issues over the past year. In 28 innings between Triple-A and the Majors last year, Labourt walked 30 batters.

Indians Select Jeff Beliveau, Option Adam Plutko

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The Indians announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of left-handed reliever Jeff Beliveau from Triple-A Columbus and optioned right-hander Adam Plutko to Columbus in his place. Cleveland’s 40-man roster is now full.

Beliveau, 31, will return to the Indians for a second stint this season. He allowed four runs on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings for Cleveland earlier this season before being designated for assignment, outrighted, and accepting an assignment to Triple-A. He’s notched a 22-to-4 K/BB ratio in 15 1/3 innings with Columbus this season.

[Related: Updated Cleveland Indians depth chart]

The 26-year-old Plutko pitched quite well in his first two starts of the season and flirted with a no-hitter against the Cubs on May 23, though the White Sox knocked him around for five runs in his most recent start. With prospect Shane Bieber stepping up for a spot start on Thursday this week, the Indians won’t need a fifth starter for the foreseeable future, so Plutko can head back to Triple-A to work on regular rest before potentially returning at some point in June.

It’s possible, though, that Bieber steps up and seizes the fifth spot in the rotation that was vacated earlier this month when Cleveland shifted Josh Tomlin to the bullpen. It’ll likely be a performance-based decision, but both right-handers seem likely to play significant roles on Cleveland’s pitching staff through season’s end. Each has been outstanding in the minors thus far, and the Indians have seen their bullpen struggle while receiving little from the fifth spot in their rotation.

Indians Place Andrew Miller On 10-Day DL

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According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, Indians lefty Andrew Miller is headed back to the DL with right knee inflammation. It’s the same knee issue that caused him problems last year, which is surely incredibly disheartening news to a Cleveland ballclub whose bullpen situation just seems to keep getting worse. For the time being, the Indians have recalled right-hander Evan Marshall from Triple-A Columbus.

A separate tweet from Bastian reveals that the knee has been an underlying issue “the entire time” this season, according to manager Terry Francona. That could be considered good news in the sense that it helps explain Miller’s uncharacteristic struggles this season (he’s pitched to a 4.40 ERA this season, which would be his career high as a full-time reliever). However, it’s obviously deeply concerning news considering the Tribe’s desperate need for Miller to put his health issues behind him and help shore up a bullpen with a 6.23 ERA on the season.

Though Miller’s 14.44 K/9 is right in line with his marks in recent years, it’s his 6.28 BB/9 that stands out as an alarming red flag. That’s more than double his full-season mark in any of the past four years. There’s currently no timetable for his return, but it seems likely that the Indians will proceed with extreme caution considering Miller’s value to the club in the postseason. Despite having a sub-.500 record, Cleveland is currently leading the AL Central and is considered a strong favorite to win the division for the third consecutive year.

Indians Designate Oliver Drake, Recall Ben Taylor

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Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets that the Indians have designated right-handed reliever Oliver Drake for assignment and recalled fellow righty Ben Taylor from Triple-A to take his roster spot. Drake was charged with six earned runs in last night’s game against the Astros.

It’s the latest turn in the revolving door that’s been the Indians’ bullpen this season as they desperately search for lightning in a bottle to stabilize their relief corps. The Tribe’s bullpen currently ranks dead last in baseball with a 6.23 ERA, and have suffered many a loss at the hands of relievers who simply can’t seem to preserve leads for their stellar starting rotation. Last night’s loss may have been one of the most disheartening yet, as Indians fans watched Corey Kluber shut out Houston over 6 1/3 strong innings only to groan later as a five different relievers combined to allow four earned runs in the eighth inning and seven more in the ninth.

For Drake’s part in that nightmare, he allowed base hits to five Astros and beaned one more. All six of those players crossed the plate, and Drake managed to record just two outs. He’d been generally good for the Indians in three appearances prior to that, striking out four batters in 3 2/3 innings after being acquired from the Orioles. It’s worth noting that in his four appearances as an Indian, he owns a 12.46 ERA but a 2.65 FIP (though the microscopic sample size probably renders those numbers somewhat pointless).

As for Taylor, he’ll be up for his second stint with the Indians, having allowed just a single earned run in 3 1/3 innings so far this season while striking out five of the 13 hitters he faced. Prior to this season, Taylor had spent his entire career in the Red Sox organization. On the whole, he owns a 4.79 ERA and 4.26 FIP for his career across 20 2/3 innings.

 

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/24/18

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We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves:

  • The Indians have added righty Mitch Talbot on a minors deal, per MLBTR’s Steve Adams (via Twitter). He’ll join the rotation at Triple-A Columbus, taking the place of the recently promoted Adam Plutko. Talbot last appeared in the majors with the Indians way back in 2011 and had not been with an MLB organization since 2013. In the interim, he has pitched in the independent leagues and KBO. Last year, Talbot spun 110 innings of 3.03 ERA ball with 8.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 for the Sugar Land Skeeters.

Indians Move Josh Tomlin To Bullpen

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The Indians are shifting fifth starter Josh Tomlin to the bullpen in favor of rookie right-hander Adam Plutko, manager Terry Francona revealed last night (link via Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer). Plutko, 26, will be recalled later this week to make what will be his second Major League start. Hoynes notes that Plutko “would appear to be the Tribe’s fifth starter for the time being.”

It’s been a struggle this season for the veteran Tomlin, who has posted a 7.84 ERA in seven appearances, six of which have come out of the rotation. The 33-year-old is demonstrating his typical brand of excellent control (1.7 BB/9), but his 5.2 K/9 mark is his lowest since 2012, and he’s surrendered an unthinkable 15 home runs in 31 innings of work.

Tomlin has spent parts of the past nine seasons on Cleveland’s big league roster, working both in long relief and out of the rotation, so the hope for now seems to be that a move to the relief corps will help him overcome his struggles while giving a younger arm the opportunity to prove himself. The timing of his troubles is hardly ideal, given that he’s set to reach free agency at season’s end, though there’s still more than four months for him to right the ship and return to form.

Plutko was long considered one of the organization’s most promising pitching prospects before a disastrous 2017 season in Triple-A caused his stock to drop. However, after posting an alarming 5.90 ERA in 135 2/3 innings with Columbus last season, Plutko is off to a strong start in 2018, having compiled a tidy 2.25 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and 0.8 HR/9 in 44 innings of Triple-A ball. He’s also already made one spot start for Cleveland this season, holding the Blue Jays to three runs on six hits and no walks with six strikeouts through 7 1/3 innings earlier this month.

[Related: Cleveland Indians depth chart]

The Indians’ rotation remains a strength even in the face of Tomlin’s 2018 struggles, of course. Cleveland starters rank fourth in the Majors with a 3.42 ERA and have thrown the second-most innings of any starting staff in baseball (295), trailing only the Astros. Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger form an enviable top four in the starting mix, but an injury would test the organization’s depth. Prospect Shane Bieber and journeyman Adam Wilk would likely be next in line for a look in the big league rotation, at least based on Triple-A performances.

Quick Hits: Liriano, Mesa, Chisenhall

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Some items as we head into the new week…

  • Even prior to Francisco Liriano’s gem of a start against the Mariners today, the Tigers have been getting trade inquiries about the veteran lefty, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  After signing a one-year, $4MM deal with Detroit last winter, Liriano earned a job in the rotation and now has a 3.42 ERA, 6.32 K/9, and 45.1% grounder rate through 52 2/3 innings.  It’s a nice improvement on paper from the struggles Liriano endured as a starter in 2017 and much of 2016, though there are some red flags — the lack of strikeouts, a 9.7% swinging strike rate, a 4.44 BB/9, and a .214 BABIP.  Interested teams could be looking at acquiring Liriano to work out of the bullpen, as the Astros did when they acquired the southpaw in a deadline trade with the Blue Jays last year.  Regardless, it looks like the Tigers should be able to score a decent prospect for their investment in Liriano in the offseason.
  • Victor Victor Mesa is “the best young Cuban prospect to become available since Yoan Moncada,” Baseball America’s Ben Badler writes in a profile of the 21-year-old outfielder that is available to BA subscribers.  Badler assigns a 70 grade (on the 20-80 scouting scale) to Mesa’s speed and throwing arm (the latter meriting “at least a 70”), and compares Mesa to Nationals minor leaguer Victor Robles, a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball.  Since Mesa and his brother only just left Cuba, however, they could face a long wait in getting official league clearance, which will limit their earning power in the 2018-19 July 2 international signing market since most teams have already committed the bulk of their spending pools to other prospects.
  • Lonnie Chisenhall is slated to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus on Monday, Indians manager Terry Francona told media (including Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer).  Chisenhall will only play every other day initially, Francona said, as the outfielder slowly ramps up after missing over six weeks with a strained calf.  It isn’t clear how long it will be before Chisenhall is ready to return to the Tribe’s roster, though the club is in dire need of some help in right and center field.

Indians Select Melky Cabrera, Designate Alexi Ogando

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4:36pm: The Indians have indeed optioned Marshall, Hoynes reports. Additionally, the club has designated reliever Alexi Ogando for assignment. Ogando signed a minor league accord with the Indians during the offseason and ended up cracking their roster earlier this month. However, the 34-year-old only made one appearance – a disastrous May 4 outing against the Yankees in which he pitched one frame and allowed two earned runs on two hits and three walks. Ogando took the loss in that game.

4:12pm: Cabrera will start in right field for Cleveland on Sunday, per Zuppe. It appears the Tribe will option reliever Evan Marshall to open up a 25-man spot for Cabrera, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com suggests.

4:02pm: The Indians are set to promote veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera to the majors, T.J. Zuppe of The Athletic tweets. Adding Cabrera wouldn’t require the Indians to make a 40-man roster move, as they currently have a vacancy.

Even though the 33-year-old Cabrera has enjoyed a successful MLB career, he was one of several notable veterans who didn’t encounter much interest on the free-agent market last offseason. In fact, he went without a contract until the end of April, when the Indians inked him to a minors pact. By making it to Cleveland, Cabrera will be in position to earn at a $1MM rate and have an opportunity to rake in extra cash via incentives.

Cleveland will be the seventh different major league destination for the switch-hitting Cabrera, who didn’t produce much in 42 plate appearances with its Triple-A affiliate (.286/.286/.381) but does bring a .286/.335/.418 MLB line across 6,852 PAs. He offered similar numbers last year between two of the Indians’ AL Central rivals, the White Sox and Royals, combining to slash .285/.324/.423 with 17 home runs in 666 trips to the plate.

Cabrera’s 2017 production was more than the Indians have gotten this year from their outfielders, who have combined for a .255/.308/.396 mark in the first month and half of the campaign. Michael Brantley and Tyler Naquin have held their own, but each of Bradley Zimmer, Lonnie Chisenhall, Rajai Davis, Greg Allen and Brandon Guyer have scuffled, and three of those players (Naquin, Zimmer and Chisenhall) are on the disabled list.

Indians Re-Sign Matt Belisle

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The Indians have announced that righty Matt Belisle is re-joining the organization on a minor-league deal. He’ll begin his tenure at Triple-A.

It seems that Belisle was not able to find a better opportunity with another club. He opened the year on Cleveland’s active roster after winning a job in camp, but was designated for assignment two weeks ago and thereafter elected free agency.

Bullpen depth has been an ongoing problem for the Indians, so it’s not surprising to see this move. The club also had an opening at Triple-A after promoting Neil Ramirez to the MLB roster.

Belisle, who’s closing in on his 38th birthday, had a solid 2017 campaign — in particular, he finished on an excellent run — but was not overly impressive out of the gates this year. In his 10 1/3 innings, he allowed six earned runs on nine hits and a walk. Belisle compiled just four strikeouts in that span, though he did maintain a swinging-strike rate of 9.8% that falls in line with his prior levels.

Indians Place Bradley Zimmer On DL, Select Neil Ramirez

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The Indians announced today that they’ve placed outfielder Bradley Zimmer on the 10-day DL. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by righty Neil Ramirez, whose contract was selected. Clearing a 40-man spot was accomplished by shifting lefty Ryan Merritt to the 60-day DL.

Zimmer has been diagnosed with a left rib contusion, which does not seem likely to keep him out for too terribly long. The 25-year-old outfielder has been struggling quite a bit, with a .224/.283/.337 slash and 39 strikeouts through his first 106 plate appearances on the season.

The 28-year-old Ramirez, meanwhile, will again look to reestablish himself in the majors. He was once a quality pen option with the Cubs but has struggled in recent years. Ramirez was throwing quite well at Triple-A, compiling 17 2/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball with a whopping 15.8 K/9 against just 1.5 BB/9.

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