The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has activated RHP KERRY WOOD from the 15-day disabled list and optioned RHP JENSEN LEWIS to AAA Columbus.
Wood has been on the disabled list since April 3 with a strained right lat muscle and he recently made 2 appearances in AA Akron on a rehab assignment that began on May 3. He tossed a scoreless inning in his most recent appearance of May 5 vs. Trenton (1.0IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 2K). The injury limited Kerry to a pair of scoreless exhibition outings (2.0IP) this spring in Goodyear, AZ.
Lewis opened the season (10.1IP, 8H, 3R/ER, 9BB, 9K) in the Indians bullpen and has spent the entire season to date in Cleveland.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Wood Activated, Lewis Sent To Columbus
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12 comments:
Lewis was dominant for the first month. Raffy Perez was absolutely awful all year and last year. Why Lewis and not Perez? I know he struggled his last 3 outings, but still. Does he have a service time issue? I think I remember hearing that.
Lewis has options and Perez does not. Perez would have to clear waivers.
Lewis has been great and Perez has not. Who cares about options? At this point, why do they even want Perez? They sent him down twice last year and it didn't work. They thought they figured him out in winter ball and spring training and it didn't work. A whole new coaching staff came in and he still hasn't got it back. He looks lost on the mound and takes more time than Betancourt did. He is wasting a roster spot when Lewis could be helping the bullpen.
It's not like the club is ready to make a run on the Twins just yet.
Let's not be so quick to dispose of Perez.
Chad, I disagree with you that Lewis has been great. His WHIP of 1.65 is way too high for a solid reliever. He has had luck on his side. Still, you are right about Raffy Perez, he needs a change of scenery, ASAP. I think he can turn it around and be a good pitcher, just not here. His WHIP/ERA have been atrocious last year and this as well. I think his days are soon numbered. I'd like to see Herrmann get a shot in the near future myself.
I agree the move is somewhat of a head-scratcher.....but is Jensen Lewis so good that he is the guy you decide to keep and make the decision to DFA Perez and likely see him go to another team? I am not sure about that. Lewis as someone has said has been very lucky. 9 walks in 10 innings is terrible. Perez has certainly performed worse, but I am not sure I dump him yet. I give him until sometime in June because when we dump Perez it is likely for good as another team lkely picks him up whereas with Lewis it is simply him being optioned out and he is still in the org.
Rafael Perez has a WHIP of 2.86. Why do they think that any team would claim him? And why would they care if someone did? He's terrible. Lewis was probably pitching the best of any Indians reliever, that's not saying a lot, but it's still the case. Why should anyone go to Indians games this year, when they're blatantly not trying to win?
They believe that Perez can be fixed. One of the theories that I've heard is that Perez is throwing his slider too hard so that it's coming in close to his fastball speed.
If they DFA him another team could get a freebie to refurbish without the Tribe getting anything in return. Not only that but Lewis' walks were way too high and he needed to get some remedial work in to help him get pitches over the plate for strikes.
With the need to activate Wood, Lewis would have been the perfect move for the organization to make. Don't get me wrong, Perez has been beyond bad, but perhaps not beyond redemption. With Lewis' option available there was no other choice.
Lewis' walks and WHIP totals are inflated from his last three outings. He had 6 walks in his last 2.2 innings. He was almost unhittable his first 7 appearances. It just seems like he could have worked through that up here. What about Wright? He has gotten them out of some jams but at this point I don't see how they are benefitting any by having him on the team esp. with Wood back.
If you DFA Perez, it is likely for good he is gone. By optioning out Lewis, you don't lose anyone and you still have a chance to possibly get an important pitcher in Perez back on track. If he doesn't get back on track, they DFA at season's end or near the All Star break, but for now I am fine with trying to right his ship. Carmona was just as terrible the past two years, but they stuck it out with him, and it's paying off. So I am fine with taking the chance of getting Perez back as he is MUCH more important to the success of our bullpen now and in the future than Jensen Lewis will ever be. Lewis is a guy. Perez, when on, is a difference maker. In a season that is largely about development first, you can be afforded to the patience to stick it out with him longer and see what happens.
No, Carmona was not as terrible as Perez. 1.90 WHIP last year and 2.86 so far this year. That's taking "ineffective" to a whole new level.
Tony, would someone really claim Perez? Why? Do scouts from other teams think there is something correctable about him? His best (only) pitch is his slider, and his slider has been awful the past 2 years. It's a different situation than Carmona, who lost his fastball command. If someone makes a waiver claim after the designate him, they have to roster him right? Or no? If they have to roster him, which I thought was the case, I'd think there's about zero chance that any team would claim him. You could take pretty much anyone off of a AA roster and they could do better than a 2.00 WHIP in the majors.
And even if you believe that Perez will magically rediscover his good slider, what about Wright? Why not just release Wright so you can keep evaluating Lewis? You say Lewis is just any guy, but he and Perez put up similar numbers in '07 and '08, so really, Perez at his best is only as good as Jensen Lewis at his best. The difference being, that Perez at his worst makes Winston Abreu look like a decent pitcher, and Perez has been at his worst for his past 64 appearances
I don't think there is any doubt that a team would claim Perez. With the stuff he has and the teams out there with awful bullpens, someone would certainly take a shot on him. How do you think we ended up with guys like Veras, Herges, Aquino, Abreu, Ohka, etc? If he was on a different team and this was last year, the Indians would be the first in line to take him. As far as Lewis being "a guy," there is no question that he doesn't have the stuff that Perez does, but he saved 13 games in '08. I think he can be a very good middle reliever. Agree with Seth that Wright should have been the one to go. Tony, you have convinced me that it was the right move to keep Perez more a little longer, but I still don't think it was right to send Lewis down.
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