Cleveland activates Murphy, recalls Sellers
CLEVELAND -- The Indians continued to add roster reinforcements on Friday, activating veteran right fielder David Murphy from the disabled list and promoting versatile utility man Justin Sellers from Triple-A Columbus.
Murphy rejoins Cleveland following a two-game Minor League rehab assignment with Columbus, where he tested out the right oblique strain he sustained on Aug. 9 in New York. Sellers gives Cleveland another backup option at a variety of positions while veteran utility man Mike Aviles deals with concussion symptoms.
"With Aviles down, and not knowing his availability," Indians manager Terry Francona said, "our extra infielder is [Zach] Walters and he's been DH-ing the majority of the time. So, just the way our lineup was kind of configured, we went from having a pretty strong bench, or a usable bench, to we didn't have a lot of versatility."
With the pair of additions, and the trade acquisition of outfielder J.B. Shuck on Friday, the Indians have 35 players on their roster.
The 32-year-old Murphy landed on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 10 after injuring his side on a swing against the Yankees. The right fielder went 1-for-6 with a home run in his two rehab games with Columbus on Wednesday and Thursday. Through 109 games this season, Murphy has hit .262 with seven homers, 21 doubles and 55 RBIs.
Francona noted that Murphy would be available off the bench on Friday and Saturday, and would likely start for the Indians on Sunday against the White Sox.
Aviles serves as the Tribe's backup shortstop, and he can also fill in at second and third base, along with all three outfield spots. In the first inning of Monday's game against Detroit, Aviles hit his head on a diving attempt and was removed from the contest after three innings. Francona noted that Aviles was feeling improved on Friday afternoon.
"This is the first day where he's starting to feel a little bit better," Francona said. "He was going to do some things in the training room just to see how much they'd allow him to do. But he was starting to feel a little bit better."
Sellers, who is back for his third stint with Cleveland this season, started games at shortstop (67), second base (18), left field (17) and third base (two) with Columbus. In 102 Triple-A games, he hit .254 with three homers, 22 extra-base hits and 40 RBIs. Sellers has hit just .188 through seven games with the Tribe this season and .198 in 89 games in parts of four Major League seasons.