The Indians made their first round of cuts from major-league camp on Monday, optioning or assigning seven players to minor-league camp.
Pitchers Mike Clevinger, Ryan Merritt and Shawn Morimando and utility man Zach Walters were all optioned to Triple-A Columbus.
Pitcher Dylan Baker was optioned to Double-A Akron. Pitchers Adam Plutko and Will Roberts were reassigned to minor-league camp.
Clevinger, the No. 7 prospect in the Indians’ system, according to Baseball America, has made significant progress since the beginning of the 2015 season. He pitched well at Double-A, helped Triple-A Columbus in the playoffs with a couple of quality starts and has garnered some praise from the Indians’ coaching staff this spring in Goodyear, Ariz. He stands a good chance of becoming the eighth viable starting pitcher the Indians could call upon this season, joining whoever doesn’t win the competition for the No. 5 spot between Josh Tomlin, Cody Anderson and TJ House.
“There’s so much to like about this kid,” Indians manager Terry Francona told reporters in Goodyear. “He’s really put himself on the radar for a number of reasons. He’ll go over to that side and do the same things he was doing here. The more repetition he gets, the better.”
Merritt, the No. 22 prospect according to Baseball America, will look to become the ninth pitcher in that line of succession. Clevinger and Merritt are the last two to win the Bob Feller Award as the Indians’ top minor-league pitcher in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Walters has acted as a utility man but this spring was being used exclusively as an outfielder. Walters has brought value to the Indians at times with his defensive versatility and his power, but his contact rates have been a major issue.
Morimando (No. 17-ranked prospect) spent the end of 2014 and all of 2015 in Double-A, so he’ll be making the jump to Triple-A for the first time. Baker (No. 24) will be making the jump to Double-A. Plutko (No. 14) got his first taste of Double-A ball last season. Roberts has logged more than 70 innings at Triple-A.
The Indians’ spring training roster now stands at 53 players and includes 18 nonroster invitees.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ.
