Latest on Terry Francona
Besides wrapping up the Ohio Cup Series against the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians made a few other moves. On the news front, the biggest story of the day was in regards to skipper Terry Francona. The team announced that Francona would not travel with the team to Chicago due to recent health concerns. Mandy Bell of MLB.com was the first to report that on Twitter.
Terry Francona will not travel with the team to Chicago this weekend.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) August 6, 2020
With Francona out, Sandy Alomar will continue to manage the team. Alomar has been the team’s acting manager since last Sunday.
Indians Roster Moves
With the deadline to trim MLB rosters from 30 players to 28 by 12:00 PM Eastern on Thursday, the Indians were forced to make a couple of decisions. The first came as the team activated outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. DeShields Jr. came down with Covid-19 related symptoms during Summer Camp and missed the first 10 days. He was activated and in the starting lineup for Thursday’s series finale.
As a result of activating DeShields Jr., Cleveland optioned outfielders Greg Allen and Daniel Johnson. Allen started eight games for the Indians this year and hit .000/.111/.000 over eight plate appearances. Additionally, Johnson started three games in right field and one game in left field during his tenure on the big league roster. Over that span, the 25-year old made 13 plate appearances in which he hit .083/.154/.083 with one hit, one walk, and five strikeouts.
Finally, Cleveland also designated infielder Christian Arroyo for assignment. Arroyo was part of a trade involving reliever Hunter Wood with the Tampa Bay Rays in July 2019. Ruben Cardenas and international bonus slot money went the other way in that deal. Arroyo didn’t start any big league games with the Indians big league club last season. This year, he appeared in one game but did not record any plate appearances. The 25-year old was originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants during the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft.
Effectiveness of the Bullpen
While starting pitching has been the hallmark for the Cleveland Indians so far, don’t overlook the bullpen either. The aforementioned Mandy Bell had this regarding Cleveland’s bullpen earlier on Twitter.
Cleveland’s bullpen has a 1.34 ERA in 33.2 innings on the year. In their last eight games, the Tribe's 'pen has pitched 17.2 scoreless frames with 20 strikeouts and 2 walks.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) August 7, 2020
One of the biggest contributors in the bullpen so far has been right-hander James Karinchak. So far over six and one-third innings, Karinchak has no earned runs with three hits, two walks, ten strikeouts, and a 0.78 Fielding Independent Percentage. He was originally drafted by the organization during the ninth round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
Additionally, another standout in the Indians bullpen has been right-hander Cam Hill. Hill has appeared in four games for the Indians and has allowed zero runs along with one save and four strikeouts. He is another pitcher that has come up through the ranks with the Indians. Hill was originally drafted during the 17th round of the 2014 MLB Draft.
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