CHUCK CROW/THE PLANI DEALERLou Marson got good news Monday. He will head north with the club as the Tribe's backup catcher. GOODYEAR, Ariz. . -- Indians manager Manny Acta said the last week of spring training is mostly about delivering good and bad news. Acta was the bearer of those exact feelings Monday as the Indians picked the 25...
Lou Marson got good news Monday. He will head north with the club as the Tribe's backup catcher. GOODYEAR, Ariz. . -- Indians manager Manny Acta said the last week of spring training is mostly about delivering good and bad news.
Acta was the bearer of those exact feelings Monday as the Indians picked the 25 players they will open the regular season with Friday against Chicago at Progressive Field. Here's who heard what from the manager's mouth:
•Lou Marson won the backup catcher's job despite hitting .143 (4-for-28) this spring. Paul Phillips and Luke Carlin were reassigned to minor league camp and will probably open the season at Class AAA Columbus.
•Relievers Vinnie Pestano, Justin Germano and Frank Herrmann won the last three spots in the pen. Jess Todd, who had a 1.17 ERA this spring, was optioned to Columbus.
•Adam Everett won the utility infielder's job. Luis Valbuena was optioned to Columbus where he'll play mostly shortstop. Jayson Nix was told he would not make the club. Nix is out of options. GM Chris Antonetti said the Indians will try to trade him in the next few days. Nix could be outrighted to Columbus if he clears waivers, but he has the right to refuse the assignment and become a free agent.
If he did, he'd forfeit his salary. Nix signed a split contract that pays him $438,100 in the big leagues and $252,000 in the minors.
'••Now it's up to Antonetti and his assistants to make all the players fit on the 40-man roster. The roster is at 39, but Germano, third baseman Jack Hannahan, Everett and outfielder Travis Buck are non-roster players. They must be added by Thursday, which means three spots have to be created.
One possibility is putting Trevor Crowe (right shoulder) on the 60-day disabled list to create a spot. Crowe returned to Cleveland on Sunday to be examined and is headed for New York on Wednesday for a surgical consultation with Dr. David Altchek. He has a strained rotator cuff and it has not responded to rehab.
Crowe, Joe Smith, Grady Sizemore and Jason Donald will start the season on the 40-man roster. Smith (abdominal strain), Donald (cracked left middle finger) and Sizemore could return sometime in April, but those are moves to contemplate another day.
There was some thought that Marson would go to Columbus to catch and play every day instead of sitting behind Carlos Santana. Marson never bought into that.
"I was always confident," he said.
Said Antonetti, "We felt we were a better team with Lou on it. That drove the decision."
The Indians have the youngest 40-man roster in the big leagues, but Pestano is the only rookie to make the club. He went 0-1 with a 1.13 ERA (one run in 8 innings) with two saves in nine games this spring.
"It's bittersweet," said Pestano. "On a personal level I'm excited, but it's a tough day for some of the guys. We had an incredible battle this spring with Jess, Germano and Frank."
Germano, who was dropped from the roster after last season, didn't allow a run in nine innings this spring. Herrmann allowed two runs in 10 innings and Todd one in 7 innings.
Everett, 36, played Class AAA ball for Acta with the Astros. He was released by the Tigers last season. If he didn't make the Indians, he said he would have retired if another big-league offer didn't come his way.
"This is as excited as I've been since my rookie year," said Everett, hitting .293 (12-for-41). "I'm proud of what I did."
Head to head: Here are the matchups for the Indians vs. Chicago series this weekend at Progressive Field: Mark Buehrle vs. Fausto Carmona, Friday at 3:05 p.m.; Edwin Jackson vs. Carlos Carrasco, Saturday at 1:05 p.m. and John Danks vs. Justin Masterson, Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
Bye, bye: Reliever Doug Mathis, another non-roster candidate, was re-assigned last week. On Sunday, he asked for and was granted his release by the Tribe.
"But we can still re-sign him," said Antonetti. Finally: The Indians break camp after today's game against the Reds. They'll fly to Columbus where they'll play the Class AAA Clippers on Wednesday at Huntington Park.
Then they'll bus to Cleveland. They'll have a workout on Thursday at Progressive Field.
To reach this Plain Dealer Reporter:
phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/03/cleveland_indians_complete_the.html
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