Masterson threw 70 pitches Sunday. He could work today. He's listed as a the Probably at mlb.com

Kluber with 94 pitches on Monday is less likely to come back Friday, but he's a big tough guy. If not Corey, then maybe Tomlin would be ready on Friday; he threw 49 pitches yesterday, that's less than Carrasco in one more inning worked.

civ ollilavad wrote:That doesn't make too much sense to me. Mark Lowe is a closer. What role will he fill? I will assume that you are pulling our legs, fairly successfully.

Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick ESPN

#Indians are expected to call up veteran reliever Mark Lowe from minors today as one of multiple roster moves.


Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick 6h

Lowe, 30, has a 3.86 ERA and 21 SO in 16.1 IP with AAA Columbus this season. #indians

Would not Sellers be sent back before assigning a pitcher?

Cleveland Indians name Justin Masterson to start vs. Baltimore on short rest


BATLIMORE, Md. – After pitching poorly against Oakland on Sunday, Justin Masterson told reporters after the game, "The next one will be better."

What Masterson couldn't have realized at the time is that his next start would be coming Thursday night against Baltimore on three days rest because the Indians had to use scheduled starter Josh Tomlin for the final three innings in Wednesday's wild 11-10 victory over the Tigers in 13 innings.

Masterson, as a starter, has pitched on short rest once in his career.

On Aug. 9, 2011, he lasted two innings against the Tigers. He came back on two days rest to face the Twins on Aug. 12, throwing 7 2/3 innings and allowing two runs on five hits with a one walk and four strikeouts in a no decision.

Masterson will be the second Tribe starter this year to pitch on short rest and the season isn't even two months old.

Zach McAllister, working on three days rest for the first time in his career, lost to the Angels, 7-1, on April 30. McAllister allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings.

McAllister, including that game against the Angels, has gone 0-3 with a 10.13 ERA (21 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings) over his last five starts.

Masterson, who broke into the big leagues with Boston as a reliever, at least has the experience of pitching two and three days in the row. Masterson, however, is 0-2 with a 11.17 ERA (12 earned runs in 9 2/3 innings) in his last two starts.

He is 6-5 with a 4.78 ERA lifetime against the Orioles.

Masterson was scheduled to start Friday, which means the Indians still need to find another starter to face the Orioles in Game 2 of this four-game series at Camden Yards.

Left-hander T.J. House would have been a possibility, but the Indians just optioned him to Class AAA Columbus on Tuesday. Unless there is an injury, an optioned player has to stay in the big leagues for 10 days.

Big league veteran Kyle Davies is pitching at Columbus, but he's still not at 100 percent following right shoulder surgery. Davies was scheduled to start Thursday for Columbus.

Right-hander Travis Banwart, another member of the Columbus rotation, is a possibility.

Indians promote pitchers T.J. House & Mark Lowe from AAA; McAllister placed on DL/Crockett optioned




CLEVELAND, OH - The Cleveland Indians today announced the following roster moves relative to the Major League roster:

Recalled LHP T.J. HOUSE (#58) from AAA Columbus.

Selected the contract of RHP MARK LOWE (#54) from AAA Columbus.

Placed RHP ZACH McALLISTER on the 15-day Disabled List with a low back strain.

Optioned LHP KYLE CROCKETT to Columbus.

Transferred OF NYJER MORGAN from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL.

House, 24, was recently with the club from May 17-19, making his Major League debut on May 17 in relief vs. Oakland (1.0IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K). Around his 3-day stint with Cleveland he has gone 1-2 with a 2.40 ERA in 7 starts for AAA Columbus (41.1IP, 35H, 12R/11ER, 11BB, 34K, .235AVG). His 2.40 ERA currently ranks 9th in the International League.

Lowe, 30, has spent the entire season to date with the Clippers, going 1-1 with 8 saves and a 3.86 ERA in 16 relief appearances (16.1IP, 16H, 7ER, 8BB, 21K, .246AVG). He is currently 4th in the International League in saves (8) and he has not allowed an earned run over his last 7 games (7.0IP, 4H, 1R/0ER, 3BB, 10K). On the year he is averaging 11.6 strikeouts per 9.0IP, has limited left-handed batters to a .212 (7-33) average against and a .174 (4-23) mark with runners in scoring position. Signed on April 3 by Cleveland, the Sugar Land, TX native was a non-roster invitee with Tampa Bay this spring (0.87ERA, 7G, 10.1IP, 11H, 1ER, 12K).

McAllister has gone 3-4 with a 5.89 ERA in 10 starts for Cleveland in 2014 (47.1IP, 53H, 34R/31ER, 19BB, 43K) and is beginning his second career stint on the Major League DL.

Indians place Zach McAllister on the DL with back strain
May 22, 2014 by Scott Sargent 1

From shelled to the shelf. The Cleveland Indians placed starting pitcher Zach McAllister on the 15-day disabled list with what’s being called a lower back strain. McAllister (3-4) won three consecutive starts earlier this season but allowed eight runs in a 1 1/3-inning effort against the Oakland Athletics this past weekend. On Wednesday, against the Detroit Tigers, the righty lasted just two innings, allowing five runs on five hits (two home runs) and two walks.

This move leaves Justin Masterson, Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin as the Tribe’s rotation. The team could either opt to place Carlos Carrasco back in a starting role, or promote the recently optioned Danny Salazar.

Other shuffling within the Tribe’s 40-man roster include the optioning of young left-hander Kyle Crockett to Triple-A Columbus, the transferring of Nyjer Morgan to the 60-day Disabled List, the recalling of left-handed pitcher TJ House and the purchasing of the contract of right-handed pitcher Mark Lowe, both from Columbus.

House, 24, was recently with the club from May 17-19, making his Major League debut in relief against Oakland. With Columbus, House has gone 1-2 with a 2.40 ERA in seven starts. His 2.40 ERA currently ranks ninth in the International League.

Lowe, 30, has spent the entire season to date with the Clippers, going 1-1 with eight saves and a 3.86 ERA in 16 relief appearances. He is currently fourth in the International League in saves (eight) and he has not allowed an earned run over his last seven games.

At last report, Morgan was "day-to-day." Now he is on the 60 day DL!

The Indians placed Zach McAllister on the disabled list Thursday and brought up two pitchers from Triple-A Columbus. Cleveland recalled southpaw T.J. House and purchased the contract of veteran reliever Mark Lowe, and left-hander Kyle Crockett was optioned to Columbus to make room.

McAllister has pitched to a 3-4 record and a 5.89 ERA in 10 starts this season, and he'll be sidelined by a lower back strain. House, a former 16th-round draftee, made his big league debut with the Indians last week, and he's worked to a 2.40 ERA in his seven starts with Columbus this season.

Lowe spent Spring Training with the Rays, and he signed a Minor League contract with Cleveland on April 5. The veteran has a 1-1 record and a 3.86 ERA with eight saves in 16 appearances for Columbus this season, and he hasn't allowed an earned run in his last seven games.

The Indians needed to free up a spot on the 40-man roster, so they moved outfielder Nyjer Morgan from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL. Morgan is recovering from an injured hamstring.

It sounds like McAllister's injury is one of those fortuitious things that develops just when a roster move is needed that is impossible otherwise.

I guess we need Lowe to add depth to the "depleted bullpen" although Shaw and Allen are available today and Atchison only worked 1 inning yesterday. They could have made an easier move, not having to 60-day DL Morgan if they had any interest in brining back Pestano or Barnes, but neither has been impressive. Frank Herrmann has pitched well but he also would require the same move.

That is a long time to be unable to bring Morgan back; he has only missed a couple weeks so he's now unavailable until July and there's no way to pull someone off that list sooner. I'd have to guess they're not making this one up.

I sort of figured Crockett could be optioned despite since his proven success, since he has all of his options available. I would be surprised if he doesn't return soon.

Just wondering. Do these guys get full salary when they're on the DL? I can see paying full salary for the 15 day DL but not the 60 day DL.

By putting Morgan on the 60 day tells you how close the Indians were to making a move like Crasnick suggested of DFA ing Axford or Carrasco. He obviously knew something since he got Lowe right.

I am sure that they get paid on the 60 day DL. The player is injured, not malingering.

I"d be very surprised if they dumped Axford this soon. He's not especially good, but they're stuck with his salary and his track record is decent. Carrasco has a good chance of not making it through the season; his 50+ pitches to get through only 2 innings on Wednesday added to the drain on the bullpen.

Certainly last night's effort increased Axford's value.

I also think he can easily carve out a role on this team. Not closer, but a usable reliever and at this point that's desperately needed.

I'd love to see a trade for a quality reliever to use at the back end - and put Allen and Shaw back where they thrive.

Jon ‏@WFNYJon 24m

Carlos Santana's line-drive rates:

2010 - 21.1%
2011 - 15.4%
2012 - 19.1%
2013 - 21.8%
2014 - 12.0%