Cleveland Indians Activate Abraham Almonte; Option Shawn Morimando

Cleveland Indians Activate Abraham Almonte; Option Shawn Morimando

The Cleveland Indians have activated outfielder Abraham Almonte from the restricted list and optioned left-handed pitcher Shawn Morimando to the minors.

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Almonte had been out for the entire year after getting

suspended

for the first 80 games of the 2016 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug over the winter. He was originally acquired by the Indians at the deadline last summer from the San Deigo Padres in a trade for reliever

. Almonte played well above most people’s expectations, batting .264 with a .776 OPS and 111 wRC+ in 51 games. He added five home runs and six stolen bases.

The switch-hitter figures to get a lot of time in center field where he has played very well in his brief career. He’s a career +9 DRS (defensive runs saved) and +10.5 UZR (ultimate zone rating), which are both a far cry from what the Indians have been getting out of their center fielders to this point as Rajai Davis has a -7 DRS/-0.2 UZR and Tyler Naquin has a -10 DRS/-3.9 UZR in center field. Both Davis and Naquin will likely still see some time in center but both could also see a lot more time in left field (or right) now.

To make room on the 25-man roster the Indians optioned left-handed pitcher Shawn Morimando to the minors. This was an expected move after Morimando was called up for yesterday’s game to help give them some depth in the bullpen. Morimando had never pitched above Double-A before working 3 2/3 solid innings yesterday. He struck out four and walked just one while allowing two “earned runs” (though both should have been unearned). Morimando will likely return to the minors as a starter but could possibly return to the big league club at some point as a reliever, giving the Tribe more depth from the left side.

Brantley Transferred to 60-Day DL

Since he was suspended, Almonte was not on the Tribe’s 40-man roster so another move had to be made. To free up a spot the Indians transferred injured outfielder Michael Brantley to the 60-day disabled list. Brantley has been out since the beginning of May and was on the 15-day disabled list. While it may seem “doom and gloom” hearing that Brantley is now on the 60-day DL, has was placed on it retroactive to May 10th so he’s actually eligible to come off the disabled list still in the next week. Brantley will not be coming off the disabled list that quickly but there was some good news on the Brantley front today as he’s progressing to batting practice this week.

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Should things go well with batting practice it’s conceivable that Brantley could go out on a rehab assignment around the All-Star break and possibly return before the end of July but given how the season has gone for him it’s certain the Indians will be cautious with him. Either way, the Indians got an extra outfielder to help in his absence with Almonte. If Abe can play like he did in 2016 (or close to it) the Indians should be fine without Brantley for another month.