Cleveland Indians: First Wave of Call-Ups Feature ‘Familiar’ Faces

Floyd, Johnson activated; Armstrong called up

As the clock struck midnight, the time arrived for the Cleveland Indians and the rest of baseball to expand their rosters for the stretch run. Most teams are calculated with their moves, and won’t call-up any more than necessary. The Tribe kept it minimal in wave one as they activated Chris Johnson from the 15-day DL, Gavin Floyd from the 60-day DL, and called up reliever Shawn Armstrong.

Johnson has missed time with a bizarre infection after suffering what he believed was a spider bite at the team’s hotel. His start with the Indians was a good one before missing time, as he’s hitting .429 (9-for-21) with three doubles.

Floyd was originally anticipated to be part of the Indians rotation, but he didn’t even get started before his season came to a sudden halt. After having elbow surgery, Floyd has battled his way back to pitch this season. While not likely to start, his rehab appearances didn’t go so well. But results weren’t the goal, but making sure he was healthy and ready to pitch was.

After Tommy John and two subsequent elbow surgeries, Floyd will finally make his return. After signing a $4 million deal in the offseason, Floyd was forecasted to be the No. 5 starter for the Indians. That spot has been a tumultuous one at times this season, but Floyd isn’t likely to get another chance at it this year, barring a collapse from Josh Tomlin.

Armstrong has pitched very well in Columbus this season, posting a 2.36 ERA in 46 appearances. In 49 2/3 innings, he’s struck out 80 batters for a 14.5 K/9 ratio while saving 16 games for the Clippers. It’ll be interesting to see how Terry Francona utilizes him at the back-end of the bullpen with some of the struggles that Cody Allen has had this season finishing games.

Once the minor league season ends, it’s likely the Indians will make more call-ups.

Next: Can Tomlin solve the pitching depth problem?