Cleveland Indians: Yan Gomes Ready to Come Off DL, Will Catch Sunday Against Cincinnati

Gomes to be activated, will start Sunday

Put another nickel in, this merry-go-round of the Cleveland Indians roster is about to take another spin. The good news is the Tribe will get back

, as he’ll be activated from the disabled list and will catch against the Reds on Sunday. The Indians recently made another roster move, which was a bit more of a non-move as they activated

from the DL and then optioned him to Triple-A.

There were some rumors that he could return to the starting rotation (by who?!), but after Shaun Marcum‘s first start since 2013 the Indians made the right choice to keep him as the fifth starter. House has been as ineffective as they come, posting a 0-4 record with a 13.15 ERA in four starts. If they want to get back into the race, they need to go with the best option which right now is Marcum.

The activation of Gomes will also spell the end for one of the catchers. Brett Hayes and Roberto Perez have been equals as replacements. And that’s not necessarily good or bad. Neither has hit for average, and they each have three home runs. Defensively they’ve posted similar numbers, so nothing is lost with the choice there.

Hayes is more of a veteran, and it’s possible that they could go with him to allow Perez to get consistent at-bats in the minors. Skipper Tito Francona has admitted he may have “caught Perez too often early on,”, but does believe in the long run it will benefit him.

Gomes return is much needed, especially on offense. In his time in Cleveland, he’s a .281 hitter, with 32 home runs and 112 RBIs. Compared to the sub-.200 averages Hayes and Perez have put up, it’s a dramatic upgrade.

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The Indians are slowly getting healthy, and while the gap between them and first is nine games, it could be much worse. They’ve survived a terrible April from Corey Kluber, no Gomes, no Nick Swisher most of the season. A revolving door at the fifth starter spot which they MAY have filled, at least for now.

It’s not “still early”. There are no excuses. The time is now for the Tribe.