Tribe options Hagadone to make room for Bauer

CLEVELAND -- Indians left-hander Nick Hagadone was the victim of a numbers game on Wednesday.

In need of a spot starter for Wednesday's series finale against the Phillies, Cleveland promoted right-hander Trevor Bauer from Triple-A Columbus and optioned Hagadone to the same affiliate to clear a spot on the big league roster. Hagadone had Minor League options and was the eighth man in the bullpen.

Indians manager Terry Francona said it was tough to send Hagadone down.

"We didn't want to do it, and we told him that," Francona said Wednesday. "We had a short visit with him last night and explained to him that, unfortunately right now, this is what we need to do. We don't want him to be in Triple-A. It wasn't because of anything he did. It was strictly that. I think he was disappointed, but I think he understood."

Due to Friday's rainout and Sunday's doubleheader in Kansas City, the Indians had no starting pitchers on regular rest for Wednesday's home game. It is likely that the 22-year-old Bauer -- who allowed one hit in five shutout innings with six walks in the Indians' 6-0 win-- will return to Triple-A following his outing, but Francona was not willing to speculate about that possibility.

With Hagadone out of the picture -- at least temporarily -- Cleveland has just one left-hander, Rich Hill, in the bullpen.

Hagadone has posted a 2.45 ERA in eight appearances, with only two hits allowed in 7 1/3 innings. The lefty has limited batters to a .091 average and struck out eight hitters compared to six walks.