CLEVELAND -- The Indians added an arm to their relief corps on Monday, providing another layer of depth ahead of the team's scheduled bullpen day against the Astros.
Prior to Monday's game against Houston, Cleveland recalled left-hander Kyle Crockett from Triple-A Columbus to give the Tribe an 11-man bullpen for the time being. Rookie righty Mike Clevinger was named the starter for the opener of the four-game set against the Astros, but manager Terry Francona indicated that he was part of an all-hands-on-deck day for the 'pen.
"It's nice to have the second lefty," Francona said. "We talked about him staying [in Columbus] and pitching some more. His back flared up a little bit last week, so we wanted to let him pitch a few times. He's fine now."
The Tribe's bullpen currently consists of Cody Allen, Andrew Miller and Bryan Shaw at the back end, with righties Dan Otero, Zach McAllister and Jeff Manship handling middle relief. The relief corps also includes Cody Anderson, Joe Colòn, Perci Garner and, now, Crockett. Starter Josh Tomlin was also available out of the 'pen behind Clevinger, who had been used as a reliever of late.
Crockett and Miller are the only lefties.
This season the 24-year-old Crockett has posted a 5.65 ERA in 14 1/3 innings over 24 relief appearances. During his most recent stint in the big leagues (July 18 to Aug. 19), he turned in a 2.53 ERA with a .216 opponents' average (.227 against left-handed batters) in 13 games. He had a 3.90 ERA with 26 strikeouts and 11 walks in 29 games (30 innings) at Triple-A.
Gomes to Columbus
Catcher Yan Gomes is scheduled to serve as a designated hitter on Wednesday for Columbus. Gomes, who has been sidelined since mid-July with a shoulder injury, has been getting at-bats as a DH in Akron but won't have the chance over the next few days due to Akron's postseason schedule.
Gomes may be close to catching, one of the final steps in his rehab.
"They don't have it set in stone, but I don't think it's all too far away," Francona said.