The Cleveland Indians today announced the following roster moves relative to the 2017 Major League roster (now at 34 players):
- Activated OF ABRAHAM ALMONTE (#35), OF LONNIE CHISENHALL (#8) and RHP JOSH TOMLIN (#43) from the 15-day Disabled List…-
- Activated RHP DAN OTERO (#61) from the Paternity List
- Recalled LHP KYLE CROCKETT (#57), LHP SHAWN MORIMANDO (#62) and RHP ADAM PLUTKO (#50) from Triple-A Columbus.
- Recalled C FRANCISCO MEJIA (#33) from Double-A Akron.
- Selected the contract of OF GREG ALLEN (#53) from Double-Akron.
- Recalled RHP DYLAN BAKER from Double-A Akron & placed him on the 60-day Disabled List.
Almonte has been on the D.L. since August 18 with a left hamstring strain. He appeared in 3 games on a rehab assignment in Columbus this week and for the year is batting .222 (32-144) with 6 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs and 10 RBI in 53 games. Chisenhall has missed the entire second half with a right calf strain, suffered on July 9 vs. Detroit. He recently appeared in 7 games on a rehab assignment between Akron and Columbus and for the year is batting .305 (57-187) with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 12 home runs and 51 RBI in 64 games for Cleveland. His .953 OPS is sixth in the A.L. among batters with at least 200 plate appearances. Tomlin injured his left hamstring on July 30 at Chicago-AL and made a rehab start in Short-season Class-A Mahoning Valley on August 25. In 2017 he has gone 7-9 with a 5.38 ERA in 20 starts (110.1IP, 131H, 66ER, 12BB, 86SO) for the Indians.
Mejia, 21, has spent the entire season to date at Double-A Akron, batting .297 (103-347) with 21 doubles, 2 triples, 14 home runs and 52 RBI in 92 games (.346/.490/.835). He currently ranks sixth in the Eastern League in batting average (.297) and eighth in OPS (.835) and for the year hit .352 (32-91) off left-handed pitching and .299 (29-97) with runners in scoring position. He was named an Eastern League midseason and postseason all-star and participated for the World Team in the SiriusXM Futures Game. The Bani, Dominican Republic native entered the season as the top prospect in the system according to Baseball America and was rated as the 40th-best prospect in all of MLB (MLB.com) entering 2017. He was signed by Cleveland as a amateur free agent in July 2012 and posted a 50-game hitting streak in 2016. He owns a career Minor League batting average of .293 (439-1498) in 399 games.
Allen, 24, has spent the season at AA Akron, batting .264 (68-258) with 16 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs and 24 RBI in 71 games. He has also stolen 21 bases in 23 attempts for the RubberDucks (T-5th in the Eastern League). He missed two months, May 8-July 13, due to a broken hamate bone in his right hand and spent 5 games rehabbing in the Arizona Rookie League. At Akron he batted .356 (26-73) off LHP and hit .298 (34-114) in August with 9 2B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 17 runs and 9 steals in 28 games. The Chula Vista, CA native was Cleveland's sixth round pick (188th overall) in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft and led all of Minor League Baseball with 119 runs scored in 2016 between A Lynchburg and Akron (45 steals were T5th). He entered the season as the ninth-rated prospect in the Indians system according to MLB.com.
Crockett, 25, has spent most of the 2017 season in AAA Columbus, posting a mark of 5-5 with 4 saves and a 3.38 ERA in 51 relief appearances (48.0IP, 42H, 18ER, 11BB, 49SO, .235 avg). He limited left-handed Triple-A hitters to a .176 (16-91, .494 OPS) average against and his 51 relief appearances are tied for fourth in the International League. This marks his second stint with Cleveland this season, appearing in 3 games from June 7-16 (2ER, 0.2IP).
Morimando, 24, has spent the entire season with Columbus, posting a mark of 10-9 with a 4.41 ERA in 26 starts (159.1IP, 177H, 78ER, 57BB, 128SO). He is currently leading the International League in innings (159.1), starts (26), complete games (4) and shutouts (3), seventh in strikeouts (128) and tied for seventh in wins (10). Among organizational pitchers, he ranks third in innings and fourth in strikeouts. He went 4-0 with a 1.43 ERA in 5 June starts with 2 CG shutouts (37.2IP, 29H, 6ER). Morimando was Cleveland's 19th round pick in the 2011 draft and made his Major League debut last July.
Plutko, 25, has spent most of the season with the Clippers, posting a mark of 7-12 with a 5.90 ERA in 24 games/22 starts (135.2IP, 153H, 89ER, 53BB, 103SO). He currently ranks sixth in the IL and seventh in the Indians organization in innings (135.2) and over his last 4 starts with Columbus he has gone 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA (25.2IP, 26H, 6ER, 21SO). He was with Cleveland, June 16-22 and August 2-4, and did not appear in a game.