Cleveland Indians Place Joba Chamberlain on DL; Recall Ryan Merritt

The Cleveland Indians have placed right-handed reliever Joba Chamberlain on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left intercostal (rib). Replacing Chamberlain in the bullpen will be left-handed pitcher Ryan Merritt.

Chamberlain had been pitching very well for the Indians this year. In 14 games, Chamberlain had a stellar 1.93 ERA and 0.86 WHIP.  Opponents have hit just .130 off Chamberlain, and he’s striking out more than a batter an inning (9.64 K/9). Chamberlain had allowed just one earned run in his first 13 games before allowing a pair of runs in Saturday’s game in Boston, including a grand slam home run to Mookie Betts (two runs were charged to Kyle Crockett). In addition to the home run he walked a pair in just 1/3 of an inning and didn’t look like his normal crisp self. 

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Replacing Chamberlain on the roster will be rookie Ryan Merritt who was called up from Triple-A Columbus and will make his major debut upon his first appearance. Merritt was added to the Tribe’s 40-man roster before the 2015 season after a sensational 2014 season that saw him win the Tribe’s Bob Feller Award Winner in 2014, which goes to the Indians’ best minor league pitcher.  After another solid season in 2015 he was rated as our Number 16 prospect before the season began.

Merritt, normally a starter, was pitching outstanding this season with the Clippers. In eight starts this season, Merritt was 3-4 with a 2.94 ERA, 3.26 FIP, and 1.08 WHIP. In fact, Merritt was pitching so well that had he not started for the Clippers this past Thursday, there’s a chance he would have been the one called up to start the doubleheader today instead of Cody Anderson.

Despite working exclusively as a starter in the minors, it would appear that Merritt will work out of the bullpen with the Indians. He will be the lone lefty in the bullpen after Crockett was optioned over the weekend. Not only will Merritt give manager Terry Francona and the Indians a left-handed pen option, but he’ll also give them a guy that can work multiple innings should the need arise. With four games in three days, including a day game on Wednesday, the added length Merritt could provide could prove valuable.

Next: Indians 2016 Top Prospects: No. 16 Ryan Merritt

How long Merritt will remain on the roster remains to be seen, but it should be noted that the Indians did decide to go Merritt over Crockett here, which is interesting given Crockett big league experience and Merritt’s lack of bullpen experience. Despite being optioned just yesterday, the Indians could have recalled Crockett as the roster move was due to an injury. Merritt will join Mike Clevinger as the only rookies on the Indians roster.