Cleveland Indians make a lot of roster moves in advance of tonight’s game

With a plethora of injuries and moving parts, the Cleveland Indians have brought their top prospect back to the big leagues.

It’s certainly been an eventful afternoon for the Tribe. Before they even took the field against the White Sox tonight, they made some big moves. The first of which was the decision not  to put Roberto Perez on the DL despite a wrist injury and continued struggles. That means it’s safe to assume that Perez’s injury is not as severe as we thought. Still, the Indians needed someone to replace the injured catcher

Enter Francisco Mejia. The Indians decided to take advantage of an option that’s already been burned for the team’s top prospect. That means Mejia will have one option remaining after this year. Interestingly enough, Perez still has all three of his options remaining.

The addition of Mejia meant that someone had to be sent out considering Perez won’t be moved to the DL. Evan Marshall was the byproduct of that notion. Marshall was sent down to make room for Mejia. Marshall has a 6.75 ERA over his nine big league appearances this season.

This means the Cleveland Indians will be using a 6-man bullpen for the next few days at least. Does that mean Andrew Miller is close to returning to health? If the team is comfortable with sending Marshall down, they must feel confident in Miller’s availability.

The topic worth debating is the matter of calling Mejia up over his counterpart Eric Haase. part of this decision may have to do with Mejia’s recent play. Mejia is batting .350 in the month of June with five XBH’s and 10 RBIs. There’s also the utility aspect. Mejia can be used in a DH role and possibly even at 3B.

Other moves

Another result of all of this movement came in Triple-A Columbus.

The team released Matt Belisle to make way for catcher Daniel Salters from Double-A. It’s unlikely that Belisle won’t stay a free agent for long, as many teams with struggling bullpens’ can use the journeyman.

Next: Should Cody Allen be removed from the closer's role?

Jason Kipnis, Edwin Encarnacion, and Mejia are all out of the lineup tonight. With Kipnis and Encarnacion nursing injuries, Mejia could play as soon as tomorrow.