Cleveland Indians: Can Alexi Ogando make the roster?

The Cleveland Indians signed Alexi Ogando to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training back in December. Could he make the Opening Day roster?

Ogando has plenty of experience in his career. The 34 year old right hander made his name with the Texas Rangers, pitching with them for the first five seasons of his career. He spent a year with Boston in 2015, then a year in Atlanta, and spent last season in the KBO in South Korea.

Now back in the states, Ogando is looking to resurrect his career in the big leagues. He signed a minor league deal with the Tribe after posting a 3.93 ERA with the Hanwha Eagles in 2017. He spent most of his time in Korea as a starting pitcher, which is what he was during the 2011 and 2013 seasons, although he doesn’t figure to factor in to the Indians starting rotation.

But there could still be a bullpen spot that Ogando can battle for this spring. Bryan Shaw, Joe Smith, and Craig Breslow have all departed from the Cleveland Indians for new teams this offseason, leaving a couple of spots up for grabs.

What are the odds Ogando makes the Indians?

Not very good. Ogando will be competing with several non-roster invitees, and there is likely only one spot available. He’s going to need to have a dominant spring to make the roster. It’s not impossible, but it’s also not very likely.

Has Ogando achieved much success lately?

Considering he had to go to Korea to try to resurrect his career, that answer would probably be no. His ERA hasn’t been that bad, posting a sub-4.00 ERA the past two seasons in MLB and his one year overseas.

His big problem has been walks. He allowed 5.4 BB/9 in his final year in Texas. Combining that with his 6.84 ERA that year, it’s easy to see why the Rangers moved on. In 2016, Ogando posted an ugly 6.5 BB/9 after walking 23 batters in only 32 innings. That was the major reason he had to go over to Korea to get his career back on track.

He seemed to fix his walk issues in Korea, cutting down to only 2.5 BB/9, which is much more desirable. He still isn’t much of a strikeout pitcher, and is more of a flyball pitcher. Being a flyball pitcher can be dangerous at times, but he doesn’t give up too many home runs, so it works for him.

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Ogando is a no-risk signing. If he makes the roster, the Cleveland Indians got more than they expected out of him. If not, he can simply be released with no cost to the club.