Indians recall Hagadone, option Lowe to Triple-A
Reliever Wood claimed off waivers by Kansas City after being DFA'd by Tribe
CLEVELAND -- The Indians adjusted the look of their bullpen before Monday's game against the Red Sox, recalling left-hander Nick Hagadone from Triple-A Columbus and optioning righty Mark Lowe to the same affiliate.
With Hagadone back in the fold, manager Terry Francona has three lefties -- Marc Rzepczynski and Josh Outman are the others -- at his disposal. Cleveland is still featuring an eight-man relief corps.
The 28-year-old Hagadone is coming off a strong May showing with Columbus, where he posted a 2.25 ERA and compiled 22 strikeouts against three walks in 12 innings last month. Overall this season, the lefty has turned in a 3.09 ERA with 35 strikeouts and nine walks in 23 1/3 innings, in which he has held lefties to a .171 average.
"Nick's gotten on a really good role in Triple-A," Francona said. "We think the timing is good for him. ... The way Boston is situated right now, they're so left-handed. We wanted to get a little more balance in our bullpen. Lowe was actually throwing the ball pretty well, but also we want to use [John] Axford more."
Entering Monday, Axford had not pitched in Cleveland's previous five games, which all had final scores separated by three or fewer runs. Francona noted that the right-hander is healthy and the manager added that he preferred to use other arms during the stretch of close games.
Hagadone was previously promoted to Cleveland on May 3, but he did not pitch and was optioned back to Triple-A the following day. Across the 2011-13 seasons with the Indians, he posted a 5.59 ERA in 72 appearances, but limited left-handed batters to a .183 average in that span.
The 30-year-old Lowe had his contract purchased from Triple-A by the Indians on May 22 -- one day after Cleveland wore its bullpen out in an 11-10, 13-inning win over the Tigers. In four appearances for the Tribe, Lowe spun a 2.08 ERA in 4 1/3 innings with as many strikeouts (five) as walks.
Cleveland also saw right-hander Blake Wood claimed off waivers by Kansas City on Monday. The Indians, who handed Wood a spot in the Opening Day roster, designated the righty for assignment Tuesday. He turned in a 7.11 ERA for the Tribe in seven games in April before being sent back to Triple-A Columbus.