Cleveland Indians: Shawn Armstrong traded to the Seattle Mariners

The Cleveland Indians made a move on Wednesday by trading relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong to the Seattle Mariners as the Winter Meetings continue on.

The Cleveland Indians have been relatively quiet at the Winter Meetings, but made a move Wednesday afternoon by trading Shawn Armstrong to the Seattle Mariners.

This comes one day after losing reliever Bryan Shaw to the Colorado Rockies.

As reported by Jordan Bastian:

The move is surprising, but not shocking. Armstrong never found a permanent place in the Indians bullpen, but it seemed possible he could occupy a spot with both Boone Logan and Bryan Shaw not returning in 2018.

Alas, the Indians may use that extra roster spot to add a new reliever through free agency, a trade or by giving a few players a shot in Spring Training.

Armstrong appeared in 21 games during the 2017 season, logging 24.2 innings and sporting the not-so-great ERA of 4.38. He never appeared in a postseason game during his time with the Indians.

The breakout seasons for both Nick Goody and Tyler Olson ended any shot of Armstrong getting a bigger role in 2017, and likely made it easier to trade him right now. He didn’t get a ton of playing time during his three years with the team, but apparently it was enough to for the front office to make a determination of his value moving forward.

If adding money for international signings was the goal, the Mariners were the perfect trade partner after acquiring funds and missing out on the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. The money may be used on prospects Indians fans won’t see in Cleveland for years, but it could pay off.

Next: Mike Napoli would not be a good fit in 2018

Indians fans are still waiting for news on Carlos Santana, so stay tuned. Things sure happen fast when all the MLB executives are in the same place at once. Well, all except Derek Jeter.