Indians add four players to 40-man roster
CLEVELAND, OH - The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has purchased the contracts of OF TIM FEDROFF and RHP CHEN-CHANG LEE from the Triple-A Columbus Clippers and RHP TREY HALEY and LHP T.J. HOUSE from the Double-A Akron Aeros, adding all four players to the club’s 40-man roster.
Fedroff, 25, hit a combined .316 (148-468) with 79 runs scored, 23 doubles, 10 triples, 12 home runs and 54 RBI in 123 games between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus (.394OB/.485SLG/.879OPS) in 2012. Among hitters in the Indians Player Development system, he finished 3rd in batting average and runs scored and led the system in base hits. Upon his June 6 promotion to AAA Columbus he went on to hit .325 (86-265) for the Clippers with 52 runs, 14 2B, 5 3B, 9HR & 32 RBI in 69 games, finishing 4th in the International League in average, 2nd in runs and 3rd in on-base pct. (.393) and OPS (.910) in that span. The Hillsborough, NJ native is a career .296 (555-1872) hitter at the Minor League level since being selected in the 7th round of the 2008 draft out of the University of North Carolina.
Lee, 26, was limited to 5 relief appearances at AAA Columbus in 2012 (2-0, 2.57ERA) before experiencing right elbow soreness that eventually led to reconstructive surgery on June 1. The native of Peng-Hu, Taiwan owns a 4-year career Minor League record of 17-11 with a 3.00 ERA in 138 relief appearances (234.1IP, 184H, 78ER, 74BB, 286K, .216AVG). He pitched in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and 2008 Olympic for Chinese Taipei after signing his first professional contract with Cleveland in September of 2008. He was recently named the 10th best prospect in the Indians system entering 2013 by Baseball America.
Haley, 22, split the 2012 season between Class-A Carolina and Class-AA Akron with a rehab stop in Arizona, going a combined 4-1 with a 2.33 ERA in 25 relief appearances (38.2IP, 26H, 10ER, 19BB, 49K, .188AVG). He did not allow a home run for the season and averaged 11.4 strikeouts per 9.0IP while missing 7 weeks of the season (May 23-July 14) due to surgery to repair a sports hernia. Trey recently posted an ERA of 1.64 (11.0IP, 2H, 2R/ER, .065AVG) in the Arizona Fall League for Scottsdale. The 6-3 right-hander was the Tribe’s 2nd round pick (76th overall) in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches, Texas. He has posted an ERA of 2.69 (77.0IP, 55H, 23ER, 89K, .201AVG) since being shifted to the bullpen in May 2011. He was recently rated as having the “best fastball” in the Indians PD system according to Baseball America.
House, 23, spent the 2012 season between Class-A Carolina and Class-AA Akron where he went a combined 10-5 with 3.56 ERA in 27 starts (149.1IP, 131H, 59ER, 50BB, 116K, .236AVG) and yielded just 8 home runs in 149.1 innings of work. He finished 4th among Indians farmhands in innings, tied for 3rd in wins and 3rd in strikeouts. He recently completed a stint in the Arizona Fall League, going 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 6 starts (27.0IP, 20H, 9R/ER, 9BB, 26K, .208AVG). The Picayune, Mississippi native owns a 4-year Minor League record of 28-38 with a 3.93 ERA in 105 games/103 starts (549.1IP, 526H, 240ER, 420K). He was the Tribe’s 16th round selection in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft from Picayune High School.
To allow room on the 40-man roster the Indians today outrighted INF MATT LaPORTA and INF BRENT LILLIBRIDGE to AAA Columbus and designated RHP FABIO MARTINEZ for assignment. The 40-man roster currently sits at 40 players.