Cleveland Indians: Catching up on the latest roster moves

The Cleveland Indians have made a flurry of roster moves these past two days, making several changes to their big league roster.

Nick Goody to DL, Evan Marshall recalled

Nick Goody was placed on the 10 day DL with elbow inflammation after the first game of a doubleheader against the Blue Jays. It was easy to tell he was in pain and this could end up being something more serious. Hopefully it isn’t, but we will learn more as the Cleveland Indians do.

For the second game, Evan Marshall was fast tracked to the game to take Goody’s spot in the bullpen. Marshall ended up pitching in Game 2 and struck out one in two-thirds of an inning. He will likely be with Cleveland for as long as Goody is on the DL.

Danny Salazar to 60 Day DL

This is a mere paper move. There is no setback with Salazar’s return, but this just clears a 40 man roster spot that was needed for Marshall to get called up. We’re already over 30 days into the season and Salazar wasn’t going to be ready before the 60 day mark anyways.

Adam Plutko optioned

The Cleveland Indians were allowed to bring up a 26th man for their doubleheader against the Blue Jays. They chose Adam Plutko to be the starter for the second game and he did a great job. However, as the 26th man, that means he’s going to be sent down after the doubleheader is done.

Plutko impressed in his lone start with the Indians and he’s likely put himself in a position to earn more opportunities in the future.

Jeff Beliveau DFA’ed, Alexi Ogando selected

The Jeff Beliveau era in Cleveland is over. After performing well in Triple-A to start the season and getting a save in his first few appearances, the last two outings have left a lot to be desired. He’s given up four runs in his last two appearances and his ERA ballooned up to 10.80.

Taking his place is Alexi Ogando. The 34 year old spent last year in Korea as a starter and has continued in the rotation in Triple-A. So far, he has a 2.89 ERA in his four starts at Columbus. It’s unclear what role Ogando will be filling in Cleveland. He could move into a starter role if the Tribe wants to move on from Josh Tomlin.

I would expect Ogando to fill the swingman/long relief role coming out of the Cleveland Indians bullpen. With the myriad of injuries to this pitching staff so far, having a guy like that is pretty valuable.

Gio Urshela activated, then designated

As we predicted, the Indians decided to stick with Erik Gonzalez as their utility infielder and designated Giovanny Urshela for assignment upon his activation from the disabled list. Urshela was never really able to get the bat going in his career and that was the primary cause for his placement on waivers.

Gonzalez has been heating up at the plate lately and that likely was also a factor in this decision. Any other MLB team can claim Urshela now and the Indians could lose him for nothing. But if he goes unclaimed, Urshela can choose to accept an outright assignment to Triple-A or elect free agency.

Next: Previewing road series against the Yankees

Urshela did hit .324 in his 42 plate appearances on his rehab assignment, so there could be enough potential for a team to make a claim.