FanPost

Indians add five new players to their 40-man roster


Today (tonight at midnight, actually) is the deadline for club's to set their 40-man rosters prior to the Rule V draft, which will occur in December during the Winter GM Meetings. The Indians' announced their moves earlier today:

As this suggests, the Indians roster is now full at 40. There is still some flexibility, however, as Scott Barnes, Ryan Raburn, and a few others probably have only the slimmest of holds on their roster spots.

The addition of five players was probably a few more than I would have expected. Giovanny Urshela, despite his recent injury, was an obvious addition given his age, success, and proximity to Cleveland. Beyond that, there are some surprises.

Cody Anderson was the Indians' top pitching prospect heading into 2014, so he is not much of a surprise, though he struggled mightily this past year.

Tony Wolters has seemingly made a very successful transition from middle infield to catcher, plays the game the "right way" (TM), and gives the Indians some additional 40-man flexibility. He is the 3rd catcher on the 40-man now (behind Gomes and Perez), and yet another middle infield depth option. I had said earlier in the season that the Indians could use one or two additional bullpen arms on the 40-man.

Armstrong was arguably the Tribe's best minor league reliever in 2014, striking out 12 batters per 9IP prior to a late season promotion to Columbus. He could definitely be in the 2015 Cleveland bullpen mix.

Ryan Merritt is, I would argue, the most surprising addition. I would suggest he is the most positive addition. Although we are all basking in the glory of our young, high-performing, and cost controlled major league rotation, we have a serious lack of depth behind those 5-7 guys. We have a particularly acute lack of LHP. Step in Ryan Merritt and his surprisingly dominating 2014 season. Merritt pitched 160 innings for Carolina (not counting the playoffs), featured a 5:1 K:BB ratio (decent K numbers with great control), while keeping the ball in the park thanks to an above-average GB-rate. Merritt has not pitched at Akron yet, so he seems like an unlikely rule 5 selection, but two years ago the Tribe lost TJ MacFarland, a pitcher with a similar profile, in the rule 5 draft. Merritt's progress, plus his position as the top left-handed starter, certainly contributed to his inclusion.

The current 40-man strikes me as the best combination of youth and talent the Indians have assembled since sometime in the 90s. That is good reason for hope. Even more encouraging are the guys who are on the cusp of the 40-man and could join this bunch as early as 2015. Francisco Lindor, Tyler Naquin, and James Ramsey seem like candidates to join this group in 2015. Not far behind them are Bradley Zimmer, Clint Frazier, and perhaps a couple of the pitchers (Mitch Brown, Dylan Baker). Swap out Scott Barnes for a major league relief arm, swap out Ryan Raburn for a RF platoon partner, and we have a roster heading into spring training that has me very excited.

FanPosts are reader-generated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Covering the Corner or the Covering the Corner staff.