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Tyler Naquin

Indians Place Tyler Naquin On IL, Recall Zach Plesac, Outright Hunter Wood

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The Indians made a series of roster moves today, most notably the placement (retroactive to July 22) of outfielder Tyler Naquin on the 10-day injured list due to a fractured toe.  Right-hander Zach Plesac was called up to take Naquin’s spot, getting an early promotion to the active roster since Plesac is scheduled to start Tuesday’s game.  In other moves, right-hander Hunter Wood was outrighted off the 40-man roster and assigned to the Tribe’s minor league camp.

Naquin suffered the injury on Monday after fouling a pitch off his foot during an exhibition game.  Cleveland already called up Daniel Johnson for outfield depth while Naquin was recovering, but it appears Naquin will need more time to get back to full health.  The hairline fracture is just the latest injury to befall Naquin, whose 2018 and 2019 seasons were both cut short by hip surgery and a torn ACL, respectively.  Since finishing third in AL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2016, Naquin has only appeared in 169 games due to both injuries and inconsistency at the plate, though he posted a solid .288/.325/.467 slash line over 294 PA in 2019.

With Naquin out, Cleveland has Johnson, Greg Allen, Jordan Luplow, Bradley Zimmer, Franmil Reyes, and Domingo Santana as available options for the corner outfield slots, though Reyes ismore likely to be kept in designated hitter duty.  Since the club thought Naquin might be able to avoid an IL stint altogether, that could imply he might be able to return after only the minimum ten days, or perhaps not long beyond.

Wood was designated for assignment on Thursday, and will now remain in the organization after clearing waivers.  Acquired in a trade with the Rays last summer, Wood has a 3.32 ERA, 2.70 K/BB rate, and 8.4 K/9 over 86 2/3 career innings with Cleveland and Tampa Bay, though the home run ball has given him some issues during his brief time in the big leagues.  As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted at the time of the move, it was rather surprising that the Tribe chose to DFA Wood, and it is perhaps even more surprising that none of the other 29 teams put in a claim while the righty was on waivers.

Indians Provide Updates On 5 Injured Players

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Prior to the leaguewide shutdown, the Indians faced questions about a number of key players, including Mike Clevinger (knee surgery), Carlos Carrasco (elbow inflammation), Emmanuel Clase (teres major strain), Oscar Mercado (wrist sprain) and Tyler Naquin (2018 ACL repair surgery). At this point, nearly all of them are up to speed, manager Terry Francona told reporters Thursday (link via Mandy Bell of MLB.com).

Clase, Francona explained, is a bit harder to track than the others because he lives in a fairly remote area of the Dominican Republic. The club is likely to send someone from its Dominican academy down to get a first-hand look in the near future. Clase has been throwing off flat ground — Indians Prospective tweeted some video footage — as he works back from an injury that was initially projected to sideline him for eight to 12 weeks. It’s been exactly seven weeks since that diagnosis, so it seems there’s a good chance that whenever play is able to resume, Clase will either be recovered or close to it.

Updates on the others were more generic but widely positive. Carrasco has been throwing regular bullpen sessions, recording them and sending video footage to Indians officials. Clevinger, Naquin and Mercado are all doing “great” or “fine.” That’s particularly encouraging with regard to Naquin, whose September surgery was projected to keep him out seven to nine months (into mid-April or mid-June). It seems that his recovery is on track for the shorter end of that timeline.

Carrasco, Clevinger and Mercado, in particular, will be vital pieces for Cleveland as they look to rise back to the top of the ranks in the AL Central. With Corey Kluber traded to Texas (in the deal that netted Clase), Carrasco and Clevinger will team with Shane Bieber atop a rotation that will otherwise rely on some intriguing but generally inexperienced young arms in the final two spots (e.g. Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, Logan Allen, Scott Moss, Jefry Rodriguez).

Mercado, meanwhile, is perhaps the one constant in an Indians outfield mix that looks decidedly unsettled. He should play center on a regular basis, with some combination of Domingo Santana, Jordan Luplow, Franmil Reyes, Greg Allen, Delino DeShields Jr. (also acquired in the Kluber swap), Jake Bauers, Bradley Zimmer and Naquin filling in at the corners. Luplow’s dominance of left-handed pitchers should assure him at least the short side of a platoon, and Reyes might factor in more as a DH than a prominent piece of the outfield rotation. But it’s clear that opportunities for playing time in the corners will be relatively wide open.

Clase, presumably, is being treated as a potential high-end setup piece for Brad Hand. The right-hander made his MLB debut with Texas in 2019 and compiled a 2.31 ERA with a 21-to-6 K/BB ratio and a superlative 60.6 percent ground-ball rate in 23 1/3 innings while averaging 99.3 mph on his heater. Clase skipped Triple-A entirely, but the success he found in last year’s 21 MLB games provides little to no reason to send him back down.

Camp Battles: The Indians’ Outfield

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For a team that has averaged 95 wins a year over the last four seasons, the Indians have consistently taken a mix-and-match approach to their outfield amidst this run of success.  Of course, having star infielders (i.e. Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez) and a seemingly neverending pipeline of starting talent can allow a club to put less of a focus on its outfielders, and Cleveland would’ve ideally hoped that more of its highly-regarded outfield prospects would have taken the leap to everyday status by this point.  Still, the Tribe is now entering a fifth season of outfield uncertainty, and hoping that at least one of its question marks can enjoy a true breakout campaign.

Let’s begin with the one everyday lock in Oscar Mercado, though Mercado’s actual position on a game-by-game basis could be in flux.  The 25-year-old is coming off a solid rookie season that saw him perform decently well at the plate (95 wRC+, 96 OPS+) and impressively well with the glove in 698 2/3 innings in center field — +6 Outs Above Average, +5.8 UZR/150, +9 Defensive Runs Saved.  It’s safe to assume that Mercado will get the lion’s share of time in center again in 2020, though his ability to play all three positions will allow manager Terry Francona to shift other players into the outfield based on matchups.

Those other players?  It’s quite a long list:

  • Delino DeShields: Depending on your defensive metric of choice, DeShields was either slightly behind (UZR/150, DRS) Mercado in defensive value last season, or ahead (Statcast ranked DeShields tied for fifth among all outfielders in baseball with +12 OAA in 2019), plus DeShields has a longer track record of outstanding glovework.  It stands to reason that DeShields will handle center when Mercado is used in the corners, though it remains to be seen if DeShields will hit enough to move beyond mere fourth-outfielder duty.  The 27-year-old hit only .246/.326/.342 over 1936 career plate appearances with the Rangers, though it’s possible the change of scenery from Texas to Cleveland could help.
  • Domingo Santana: Signed to a one-year MLB contract (with a 2021 club option) earlier this week, Santana is decidedly not an option in center field, and even the corner outfield might be a stretch for a player who posted some of the worst defensive numbers of any player in baseball.  If Santana does indeed end up being used mostly as a designated hitter, the fact that he was signed at all could hint at the Tribe’s belief that…
  • Franmil Reyes is capable of better things as a right fielder after two seasons of mediocre fielding.  Acquired as part of the three-team Trevor Bauer blockbuster last summer, Reyes hit .249/.310/.512 with 37 home runs over 548 PA between the Padres and Indians in 2019.  The power is already there and the overall hitting potential has shown some flashes of improvement, and though Cleveland used Reyes almost exclusively at DH after the trade, the team surely hopes that they can get at least a couple of seasons’ worth of passable fielding work from Reyes to maximize his overall roster value (even if a mostly-DH role is ultimately in his future).
  • Jordan Luplow: Among all qualified hitters in 2019, only J.D. Martinez and Alex Bregman had a higher wRC+ against left-handed pitching than Luplow, who crushed southpaws to the tune of a .320/.439/.742 slash line and 198 wRC+ over 155 PA.  Even with other big righty bats like Santana and Reyes on hand, Luplow’s incredible splits will ensure that he’ll at least see platoon action, and Luplow has the added defensive edge of being able to play the corners decently well (and could even handle center field in a pinch).  If Luplow is to play a larger role, he’ll have to greatly improve his desultory .596 career OPS over 225 PA against right-handed pitching.
  • Greg Allen: The switch-hitting Allen offers a bit of balance to all of these right-handed hitters, though he hasn’t much from either side of the plate over 586 Major League plate appearances.  Allen can technically play all three outfield positions, though his glovework in the corners is much more highly regarded than his performance in center field.  Assuming at least one of the left-handed bats remaining on this listing emerges, Allen may find himself beginning the 2020 season in the minors.
  • Tyler Naquin: He likely won’t factor into the Opening Day picture, as much as Naquin is making excellent progress after suffering a torn ACL at the end of August.  Still, Naquin looks on pace to return on the shorter end of his original seven-to-nine month recovery period, which adds another left-handed bat to the Indians’ mix.  2019 was shaping up as easily Naquin’s best season since his 2016 rookie year, so a post-hype breakout might yet be in the cards for Naquin if he can get healthy.
  • Jake Bauers: Acquired as part of last offseason’s three-team deal that brought Carlos Santana back to Cleveland, Bauers’ first year with the Tribe was a disaster, as he posted an overall sub-replacement season (-0.4 fWAR) while struggling at both the plate and in the field.  Bauers is still only 24 years old and is a former top-100 prospect, so it’s clearly far too early for the Indians to give up on him, but he’ll be on a much shorter leash than last season.
  • Bradley Zimmer: Speaking of former top prospects, Zimmer missed almost all of the 2018-19 seasons due to shoulder surgery.  MLB.com ranked Zimmer as the 22nd-best prospect in baseball entering the 2017 campaign, but a forgettable rookie season and then his extended injury absence turned Zimmer from building block to afterthought.  He could be the biggest wild card of any player on this list, assuming Zimmer is healthy.
  • Daniel Johnson: A part of the three-player package the Indians received from the Nationals in the November 2018 Yan Gomes trade, Johnson’s first season in Cleveland’s farm system was a successful one, as he hit .290/.361/.507 over 547 combined PA at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.  MLB.com’s scouting report notes that Johnson’s strong throwing arm and overall defense alone could earn him steady work as a fourth outfielder at the big league level, so if he can manage to hit as well, there’s certainly room for Johnson gain playing time with the Tribe.

One bit of good news for the Indians in sorting out all these players is that they don’t face any specific roster crunch, as Santana is the only one of these players who no longer has a minor league option.  That affords Francona and the front office the opportunity to freely evaluate these players during Spring Training without feeling forced into a tough roster choice based on team control.  Given the sheer number of outfielders on hand, it also wouldn’t be entirely shocking if the Tribe dealt away from this surplus.  If a few of these names really stand out during camp, Cleveland might feel comfortable enough in its depth to consider one of the other players expendable if another outfield-needy team came calling with an interesting trade offer.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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Entering the day, there were more than 150 players on the clock to exchange arbitration figures with their respective teams prior to a noon ET deadline. As one would expect, there’ll be an utter landslide of arbitration agreements in advance of that deadline. We already ran through some key facts and reminders on the arbitration process earlier this morning for those who are unfamiliar or simply need a refresher on one of MLB’s most complex idiosyncrasies, which will hopefully clear up many questions readers might have.

We’ll track the majority of the American League’s settlements in this post and split off a separate one for NL settlements as well. Note that all projections referenced come courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:

  • Newly acquired Angels righty Dylan Bundy receives a $5MM salary, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter links). He had projected at a $5.7MM price tag. Teammate Hansel Robles gets $3.85MM, per Heyman, just shy of his $4MM projection.
  • The Yankees have worked out deals with all of their eligible players. The team has a hefty $8.5MM pact with Aaron Judge, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Backstop Gary Sanchez settled for $5MM, per Feinsand (via Twitter). The New York org will pay righty Luis Cessa $895K and Jonathan Holder $750K, Murray reports (Twitter links). Fellow reliever Tommy Kahnle will earn $2.65MM, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). And star lefty James Paxton has settled at $12.5MM, Heyman adds via Twitter. Chad Green and Jordan Montgomery have also agreed to terms, the former at $1.275MM and the latter at $805K, per Heyman (Twitter links).
  • The Twins announced that they struck deals with Trevor May, Taylor Rogers, Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton. Jon Heyman of MLB Network followed up with salary terms (all links to Twitter). May earns $2,205,000; Rogers takes home $4.45MM; Rosario lands at $7.75MM; and Buxton receives $3.075MM. While the first and last of those land rather close to the projected amount, Rogers got $550K more and Rosario got $1.15MM less than the calculators predicted.
  • Shortstop Carlos Correa settled with the Astros for $8MM, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (via Twitter). Righty Brad Peacock lands at a $3.9MM salary, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The former went for more than his $7.4MM projection, while the latter ended up shy of the $4.6MM mark produced by the computers. The ’Stros also have agreed with closer Roberto Osuna as well, per an announcement. It’s a $10MM deal, slotting in just $200K shy of his projection, per Rome (via Twitter).
  • The Orioles have a deal with outfielder/first baseman Trey Mancini, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. It’s for $4.75MM, per Dan Connolly of The Athletic (via Twitter), well south of the $5.7MM projection.
  • Outfielder Jorge Soler has agreed to a $7.3MM deal with the Royals, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. That’s well off of the $11.2MM that MLBTR’s model projected, though it is likely that the cause of the gulf lies in the interpretation of the correct baseline to start from in building Soler’s salary. He’s in the 4+ service class but had been playing on the original deal he signed out of Cuba.
  • The Tigers have a deal in place with southpaw Matthew Boyd, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). It’ll pay him $5.3MM, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter link). That falls comfortably below the $6.4MM, suggesting that Boyd’s camp was concerned with the way his suboptimal ERA would play in the arb process. Fellow lefty starter Daniel Norris will earn $2.96MM, McCosky tweets.

Earlier Settlements

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Indians Notes: Kluber, Ramirez, Hand, Naquin

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Cleveland’s crucial matchup against division-rival Minnesota was postponed Friday due to weather, so the Indians are still 3 1/2 games out in the American League Central race. The notable injuries the Indians have faced this season could help keep them out of the playoffs, though they’re just a half-game back of the AL’s second wild-card spot. Let’s check in on a few of the club’s banged up players…

  • Right-hander Corey Kluber has “a pretty long way to go in his rehab,” according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic. That jibes with a report last week which indicated Kluber probably wouldn’t return this season. The Indians have been without the two-time American League Cy Young winner since he suffered a fractured forearm May 1 – a start in which Kluber’s uncharacteristic early season struggles continued. The 33-year-old yielded a whopping 23 earned runs in 35 2/3 innings prior to his injury. Regardless of whether Kluber pitches again in 2019, the Indians will have to decide when the year ends whether to exercise his option for $17.5MM option or buy him out for $1MM after the season. As horribly as this season has gone for Kluber, it’s hard to believe the Indians will cut him loose without getting something in return.
  • Third baseman Jose Ramirez, another integral member of the club on the injured list, is now playing catch without a wrap on his wrist, per Meisel. However, whether he plays again this season will come down to an ability (or lack thereof) to swing a bat. Ramirez underwent surgery on a fractured right hamate bone Aug. 27, when it was reported he’d need five to seven weeks to come back. The former MVP candidate hasn’t come close to his previous production this year, but he began revisiting his prior form over the previous couple months. The Ramirez-less Indians have mostly turned to rookie Yu Chang at third, though the 24-year-old’s offensive numbers have paled in comparison to the work Ramirez did after he bounced back from his sluggish start.
  • Closer Brad Hand, who has been down with a tired arm since last weekend, won’t pick up a ball again until Sunday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports. It’s unclear how much more time Hand will miss after that, but this clearly isn’t overly promising news considering the importance of every game left on the Indians’ schedule. The 29-year-old has arguably been Cleveland’s best reliever this season, having recorded a 3.36 ERA/2.89 FIP with 12.94 K/9, 2.88 BB/9 and 34 saves on 39 attempts in 56 1/3 innings.
  • Outfielder Tyler Naquin, who tore his right ACL last month, underwent surgery Thursday, Meisel tweets. It’ll take Naquin seven to nine months to return to the majors, which means he’ll miss at least some portion of next season. In the meantime, Naquin will make his first trip through arbitration during the winter. The 28-year-old wrapped up his 2019 as one of the Indians’ top outfielders, as he batted .288/.325/.467 with 10 home runs and 1.5 fWAR in 294 plate appearances.

Tyler Naquin Suffers Torn ACL

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Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin will miss the remainder of the season after an MRI revealed that he has a torn right ACL, writes Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. The injury was initially announced as a knee sprain, but today the Indians learned that it was in fact as bad as it looked, with Naquin carted off the field after a violent collision with the outfield fence at Tropicana Field. With Naquin heading to the injured list, the Indians have recalled Jake Bauers to take his spot on the active roster.

It is yet unknown if Naquin will opt to undergo surgery to repair the ligament, and while a 2019 return is out of the question, a more precise timeline is likewise unknown. However, it stands to reason that Naquin could miss a significant portion, if not the entirety, of next season.

It’s a devastating break for the Indians and Naquin, 28, who has emerged as a critical part of his team’s second-half success. He had been enjoying his best offensive season since his rookie year in 2016, along with much-improved performance in the outfield, where he has graded out as an above-average defender. His bounce back from a pair of disappointing seasons has been crucial in revitalizing the Cleveland outfield, which stood out as perhaps the club’s most pressing need on Opening Day.

The progress that Naquin, Oscar Mercado, and Yasiel Puig have made will now hit a roadblock, which could hardly come at a worse time for the Indians, who have already lost one of their stars, Jose Ramirez, and find themselves in the thick of the American League playoff race. The team is still within range to overtake the Twins for the AL Central, and while they still own the first Wild Card spot, they’ll need to fend off a pair of strong teams in Oakland and Tampa Bay.

In light of today’s news, though, they’ll have to do so without Naquin, who will likely give way to a combination of Bauers and Greg Allen in left field. That pair has netted roughly replacement level production; while not unplayable in the outfield, there’s little doubt that they come in a step below Naquin, a difference that is magnified in significance for a team in Cleveland’s position. Allen, like Naquin, saw his offensive output jump forward in July, though he’s regressed noticeably in August. For his part, Allen has stood out as a defensive left fielder, though the same can’t be said for Bauers, who has spent the last month in the minor leagues after the arrival of Puig and Franmil Reyes.

Between Naquin, Ramirez, and a slew of pitchers including Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Mike Clevinger, the Indians have had their playoff hopes tested by health-related absences to some of their most important contributors. Though they have thus far managed to succeed in the face of those injuries, the season’s final month will no doubt be a considerable challenge, and unexpected contributors will need to emerge if the club is to reach the postseason for the fourth consecutive season.

Tyler Naquin Removed From Game On Cart

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The Indians suffered a potentially significant blow Friday, as outfielder Tyler Naquin was removed on a cart after making a catch at the outfield wall (video via Dawn Klemish of MLB.com). It has been announced as a right-knee sprain, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets, but that’s only a preliminary assessment.

Manager Terry Francona told Klemish and others after the game, which the Indians lost 4-0, that it’s too soon to “play doctor.” However, Francona added that “it didn’t look good, and we’re very concerned.”

Naquin, the 15th overall pick in 2012, burst on the scene as a rookie in 2016, but injuries and underperformance have largely weighed him down since then. He has reestablished himself as a capable big league hitter this season, though, with a .288/.325/.467 line and 10 home runs in 294 plate appearances. The 28-year-old has performed even better in the outfield, combining for 8 Defensive Runs Saved and an 8.3 Ultimate Zone Rating among all three positions.

Naquin’s output this year has been worth 1.4 fWAR, which leads an Indians outfield that hasn’t received high-end numbers from anyone. Trade deadline acquisitions Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes (primarily a DH) haven’t been all that impactful to this point. Rookie Oscar Mercado has slowed down significantly since an encouraging start. Greg Allen hasn’t hit, nor has Jake Bauers (who has been in the minors all month). Worsening matters, Jordan Luplow – the most productive hitter among Indians outfielders this year – has been on the IL since Aug. 5 with a strained hamstring.

Adding up all of the above highlights Naquin’s importance to Cleveland, whose position player group just took an enormous hit last weekend when third baseman Jose Ramirez suffered a fractured hamate bone in his right hand. The club’s still in possession of the AL’s No. 1 wild-card spot by half a game, but if Naquin heads to the IL, its lineup will be down three regular contributors.

AL Central Notes: McCann, Zimmermann, Tribe, Twins, Royals

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It isn’t any secret that the White Sox are eager to keep Jose Abreu in the fold, though another veteran may also be a candidate for a longer-term stint with the club.  While expressing to the Athletic’s James Fegan (subscription link) about how much the Sox would like to continue their relationship with Abreu, GM Rick Hahn also praised James McCann’s work at catcher.  “He’s been everything we had hoped for in terms of in the clubhouse and from a defensive standpoint and quite frankly more than we had even hoped for offensively,” Hahn said.  “He made an adjustment with his stance in the offseason….That’s really clicked for him. He’s been a great acquisition for us. We have control of him through arbitration next year and certainly look forward to having him around for a while.”

McCann signed a one-year, $2.5MM free agent deal with Chicago after being non-tendered by the Tigers in the offseason, and has enjoyed perhaps the hottest stretch of his career at the plate.  McCann is batting .366/.404/.581 through 99 plate appearances, absurd numbers for a hitter who had just a .653 OPS over 1658 career PA heading into the season.  While some regression at the plate is inevitable, Fegan feels the Sox would prefer keeping McCann over Welington Castillo for 2020, since even McCann on an arbitration raise will cost less than Castillo’s $8MM club option.

Here’s more from around the AL Central…

  • Jordan Zimmermann is “probably a month” or so away from returning, Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire told The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen (Twitter link) and other media.  Gardenhire revealed that Zimmermann has been battling a muscle strain in addition to the UCL sprain that initially sent him to the injured list back on April 26.
  • Indians manager Terry Francona provided MLB.com’s Mandy Bell (Twitter links) and other reporters with injury updates today, including the news that Adam Plutko will start for Cleveland on Saturday.  Plutko has missed the entire season due to a right forearm sprain, and has only a 5.38 ERA over 80 1/3 career innings in the majors, though the Tribe is looking to fill holes in the rotation with both Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger on the IL.  Speaking of the Cleveland injury list, Francona also said Tyler Naquin will be kept out of baseball activities for two weeks due to swelling behind the outfielder’s knee.
  • “The expectation both within the organization and outside is that the Twins, like so many other teams, must address their bullpen if they want to be real contenders,” The Athletic’s Dan Hayes writes in a look at Minnesota’s relief corps.  The Twins are around the middle of the pack in most relief categories, with Taylor Rogers, Blake Parker, Trevor May, and Ryne Harper all delivering excellent results thus far, though there isn’t a lot of experience within that group.  While Minnesota will surely explore adding a reliever before the trade deadline if the team remains in the race, GM Thad Levine notes that “I think it’s a little too early to see that market take shape,” noting that teams with bullpen assets to sell right now are putting a big asking price on that pitching.
  • While Alex Gordon is posting big numbers and can be a free agent after the season, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) feels “the safer bet is that he stays put, then re-signs with the Royals and finishes his career in Kansas City.”  The long-time face of the Royals franchise can’t be traded without his permission due to 10-and-5 rights, though if he did want to be dealt, “the Royals almost certainly would try to accommodate him.”  There’s also a notable financial element to any potential Gordon trade, as the $4MM buyout attached to his $23MM mutual option for the 2020 season would become a $4MM assignment bonus in the event of a trade, as the mutual option would then be voided.  Plus, Gordon still has roughly $15MM remaining on his $20MM salary for the 2019 season.

Indians Promote Oscar Mercado

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TODAY: Mercado’s promotion has been announced. Naquin will indeed hit the IL with calf tightness.

YESTERDAY: The Indians are calling upon a top minor-league performer, per MLB.com’s Mandy Bell (via Twitter). Young outfielder Oscar Mercado is heading up to the MLB roster, with Tyler Naquin likely headed to the 10-day injured list.

Mercado, a former second-round pick who was picked up in a trade last summer from the Cardinals, has been on a tear for most of the season at Triple-A. He’s slashing .294/.396/.496 over 140 plate appearances, with four home runs and 14 stolen bases in 17 attempts.

The Cleveland organization is badly in need of a boost after watching two of its best players go down to injury and spotting the Twins four games in the AL Central. To this point of the season, just one of the team’s outfielders (Jordan Luplow) has managed to produce offensively at better than an 87 wRC+ rate.

Indians Outright Brandon Barnes

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The Indians announced this morning that outfielder Brandon Barnes cleared outright waivers and elected free agency. Cleveland also reinstated Tyler Naquin, Cody Anderson, Nick Goody, James Hoyt, Danny Salazar and Leonys Martin from the 60-day disabled list in a series of procedural moves.

Barnes, 32, went 5-for-19 with a homer in a brief September appearance with Cleveland — his first big league action since the 2016 season. The former Rockies/Astros outfielder is a career .242/.290/.357 hitter in 1274 big league plate appearances and enjoyed a solid season with the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate in 2018 (.273/.347/.447, 14 homers, 19 steals in 132 games).

The right-handed-hitting Barnes has traditionally been a bit more effective against left-handed pitching, as one might expect, and he’s logged considerable experience at all three outfield slots over the course of 14 professional seasons. He’ll likely find a minor league deal in free agency and head to Major League Spring Training as a non-roster invitee in 2019.

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