Transactions: 40-Man Roster Cleanup

by Ryan on Nov 4, 2011 6:43 AM EDT in Transactions

Reinstated OF Shin-Soo Choo, OF Michael Brantley, RHP Carlos Carrasco, and RHP Josh Tomlin from 60-Day Disabled List

After the season, teams have to remove all players from both Disabled Lists. By reinstating these four, the Indians add them back onto the 40-Man Roster. Choo, Brantley, and Tomlin should be healthy in time for next spring, but the Indians will place Carrasco (Tommy John surgery) on the 60-Day DL as soon as they can next season.

Outrighted OF Trevor Crowe to Columbus (AAA)

Crowe was also on the 60-Day DL, but instead of reinstating him, the Indians removed him from the 40-Man Roster. Trevor will remain with the organization, as this is the first time he's been outrighted and he doesn't have the service time to become a minor-league free agent. He can be selected in the Rule 5 Draft, though that's unlikely, since a club was interested in him, they would have claimed him on waivers.

Crowe spent almost the entire 2011 season on the DL with a shoulder injury, only appearing briefly with the big-league club in September. Depending on what the Indians do via free agency or trade, he may have a shot at winning a job as a reserve outfielder, but it's more likely that he'll be in Columbus. He hasn't hit at the major-league level, and is now two seasons removed from hitting .297/.401/.400 in AAA.

RHP Chad Durbin, DH Jim Thome, and OF Kosuke Fukudome Elected Free Agency

It used to be that eligible players would have to file for free agency, but now they all automatically become free agents a couple days after the World Series. The Indians will not be bringing Durbin or Thome back, but they may have some interest in bringing back Fukudome. Kosuke will be 35 next year, but he still can play center field, and the Indians need a second outfielder capable of playing center.

With these moves, the 40-Man Roster now stand at 38, giving the Indians room to sign a couple free agents without having to remove a player.

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The Indians also still need to add a few rule 5 eligible players to the roster, as well. With all the promotions to the big league level last year, the number of guys who need to be added to the 40-man shouldn’t be much a problem, but it does mean the roster has a few more shufflings left before it is set. A quick look suggests that Scott Barnes is the only obvious 40-man addition, but several other guys will be tempting. Elvis Araujo and Alexander Perez are both highly thought of, but still in the low minors because of injuries. There are, of course, a bunch of potential bullpen candidates (Stowell, Bryson, Popham, Price, Landis….). The only position guys who seem remotely interesting are Juan Diaz, Carlos Moncrief and Beau Mills.

by APV on Nov 4, 2011 9:16 AM EDT reply actions

Beau Mills? Really?

by gte619n on Nov 4, 2011 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Not as a 40-man option, and not really very interesting. But he is a former top prospect who had a mild resurgence last season. It would not be the most surprising thing if an organization or two had a scout who was still a fan.

by APV on Nov 4, 2011 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Please. He’s not versatile enough to be a 25th man. We’ll take the 50K.

by Jay on Nov 7, 2011 10:43 AM EST up reply actions

Like I said, he is clearly not a valuable commodity. But the rule 5 draft ends up populated by strange choices (see: Flores, Jose), so who knows.

by APV on Nov 7, 2011 11:18 AM EST up reply actions

Now that Trevor Crowe is off the 40-man, it appears that the most vulnerable to be dropped would be Joe Martinez and Luis Valbuena.

Martinez somehow stayed on the 40-man roster all season. Surely the Indians do not have plans for him, though, given their starting pitching depth. Right?

by Deep South Ken on Nov 4, 2011 10:37 AM EDT reply actions

Martinez is not on the 40-man roster.

I would guess that Barnes, Bryson, and Stowell get added, although with so many bullpen arms here or on the cusp, it might be overkill. Three would require at least one person to be designated for assignment.

The Indians have a lot of bullpen depth with the current core crew (C. Perez, Pestano, Smith, R. Perez and Sipp), plus Frank Herrmann, and some guys who joined the mix late this year (Hagadone, Putnam, Judy). Then you have depth with Kelvin De La Cruz. Bryson and Stowell are behind CC Lee in terms of advancement, but I don’t think the Indians want to risk losing those two power arms.

Columbus’ rotation looks full with Barnes, McAllister, Gomez, Huff, and Rondon, with no place for Corey Kluber. Kluber is also on the 40.

As for position players, on the bubble are Luis Valbuena, Thomas Neal, and Nick Weglarz. I think Valbuena is the one really at risk.

by xrickx on Nov 4, 2011 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Looking at how the roster is shaped up, I could see the Indians trying to trade off a few bullpen arms in the next couple of weeks for younger talent that doesn’t need to be rostered.

by APV on Nov 4, 2011 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions

Hence my earlier posts on trading young BP arms for marginal OF help. Top rated prospects are most likely out of reach since we really only have RP arms and a few SP arms. The SP arms are not overly enticing however.

by talonk on Nov 4, 2011 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions