Cleveland Indians: Spring Roster Cut Down From 64 to 54

The Cleveland Indians trimmed down the spring roster on Tuesday, dropping it down to 54 players. The second round of cuts included Shawn Armstrong, Giovanny Urshela and Charles Brewer to Triple-A. Cody Anderson, Ryan Merritt and Tony Wolters were all optioned to Double-A.  Jake Lowery, Tyler Naquin, Will Roberts and Jordan Smith were all reassigned to minor-league camp.

Pitchers Armstrong and Brewer had both been hit hard in their outings, especially Brewer. In 5 1/3 innings, he surrendered 11 runs on 12 hits. Those numbers won’t keep you in camp very long.

Third baseman Urshela has been battling a bad back, and was being held out of baseball-related activities before being optioned. He had missed the last three games with stiffness in his back.

Naquin was having a solid spring, but wasn’t expected to break camp with the Tribe. He is however expected to contribute to the big league ballclub at some point in the near future, possibly even in 2015.

With 18 Spring Training games left on the schedule, this is the time of the year that managers like to start stretching out the expected starting pitchers, and getting a few more at-bats for the regulars. Some of the younger players have gotten a chance to see what the big league camp is like, and can now take that experience back with them.

The Indians roster was for the most part set coming into the spring, but now with the injury to Gavin Floyd, some of those pitchers that were battling for just one spot are now going after two.

Another round of cuts shouldn’t be too far behind this one as the Tribe looks to cut its roster down for Opening Day against the Astros on March 6.

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