Cleveland Indians: Wolters claimed by Rockies

Cleveland Indians get some promising signs from Brantley, but lose Wolters to the Rockies off waivers.

After the Cleveland Indians needed to designate Tony Wolters for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster, they hoped that he would sneak through waivers and not be claimed. That wasn’t the case as Wolters was claimed by the Colorado Rockies yesterday. Once an infielder, he was converted to catcher in 2013 and defensively played very well. It was his bat that was struggling to catch up, leading to Wolter’s being DFA’d to make room for newly signed Tommy Hunter. 

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Michael Brantley continues to keep fans wondering when he’ll return as he was taking practice swings on the first day of Spring Training. Although they were “dry swings”, it was a good sign to see Brantley swinging the bat following his surgery. The next step would be hitting off of a tee before stepping into the cage. However, according to the Indians the timeline for his return has not changed.

The fifth spot in the Indians rotation will be a hotly contested one this spring, and one that we here at Wahoo’s will examine as well. Paul Hoynes and Zack Meisel took a look at the battle which will have several candidates, with Cody Anderson and Josh Tomlin leading the way. Anything can happen in the spring, and the Indians saw that last season as Gavin Floyd was lost to injury and Danny Salazar needed some Triple-A time before coming back.

These and other stories you might have missed:

‘Wolters claimed off waivers by Rockies’ – Wahoo’s on First

‘Brantley tests shoulder with practice swings on first day‘ – Cleveland.com

‘Who will win the fifth spot in the rotation?‘ – Cleveland.com

‘Non-roster names to watch this spring‘ – ESPN

‘Aviles’ daughter cancer-free after transplant’ – MLB.com

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