May 26, 2013

Breaking Indians News: Shin-Soo Choo Activated, Kearns Gone

August 12, 2011 by 19 Comments

The Indians failed to sweep the Tigers last night, but the series showed that this team might have an offense with Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall.  Business might have just picked up a little bit more to make a run at the division.  The Indians have activated Shin-Soo Choo and designated Austin Kearns for assignment.

The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has activated OF SHIN-SOO CHOO from the 15-day Disabled List. To allow room on the 25-man roster for Choo the Indians designated OF AUSTIN KEARNS for assignment.

Choo has been on the disabled list since June 25 after suffering a fractured left thumb after being hit by a pitch the night before at San Francisco. He underwent surgery on the thumb on June 28 in Cleveland by Dr. Thomas Graham. So far in 2011 Choo is hitting .244 (65-266) with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 28 RBI and 11 steals in 72 games. Over his last 9 games prior to the injury he was hitting at a .357 (10-28) clip. He played in 3 games at Lake County (2 officially w/a rain out) beginning on Monday, August 8.

Kearns hit .200 (30-150) in 57 games for the Indians this year after signing a one-year free agent contract with the club in the off-season.

I am sure a lot of you have a lot of things to say about Austin Kearns.  No point now.  The Indians made the right move.  Hopefully Choo is ready to contribute to the high levels he has been known to play in the past.  The Indians have the Twins, White Sox and Tigers again in the next three series as they trail the Tigers three games in the Central.  The White Sox are nipping at their heels just one game back of the Tribe.  It could be a very exciting ride and even more exciting for Tribe fans with Choo back in the lineup.

Also See Kirk’s piece wondering why Kearns was still here.

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  • Slawdiesel

    Kearns’ pictures couldn’t save him from this? Baffling!!!

  • Vengeful Pat

    As disappointing as Choo has been this year (particularly in the field, where he’s made a lot of bone-headed plays), he is light years better than either Duncan or Kearns, so this makes me a happy camper. It’s time for some Big League Choo.

  • stin4u

    Thank heaven! Oh my god I almost fell out of my seat when I read this. Thanks for the effort Austin, it just fell….a lot….short this year.

  • Ben

    I agree with the move and wish Kearns the best of luck. We all know he can’t play anymore but I appreciate the way he carried himself. Translation: He won’t talk about having his legs cut out from him over the weekend.

  • http://exiledclevelander.wordpress.com AMC

    I just hope they didn’t activate Choo too quickly. He was 0-8 in A ball and I think it’s a lot to ask of a guy to get his timing back at the MLB level in the thick of a playoff race. Hopefully Choo can do it…

  • TSR3000

    And the peasants rejoice!!!!

  • TSR3000

    We have to win almost every series including that dousy in Detroit next weekend..can’t wait, I will be at the series finale on Sunday.

  • Harv 21

    They could have at least given this Kearns kid a chance.

    He just needed a gimmick to hang around the whole season. Pie a teammate in the face, stick a chewing gum bubble on the cap, amuse the beat writers with pithy quips, just a little sumpin-sumpin to keep the pressure off. That’a a fail, Austin – if you’re wanna keep the uni on a little longer better learn to be a Clubhouse Guy.

  • mgbode

    i’d rather have Choo swing 1-handed than have Kearns, so I applaud the move.

  • The Conductor

    That million bucks we spent on Kearns this year was awesome!

    I think this is an accurate description: http://ow.ly/61JXU

  • 216in614

    This is an outrage! I’m I the only one who is upset at this? I blame the Dolans for this. That and Lebron James…

  • 216in614

    Not

  • http://www.redright88.com Titus Pullo

    Don’t fear Tribe fans, we haven’t seen the last of Kearns. He will somehow find his way back on the roster come Sept. 1.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    Hoping Scott can photoshop together Kearns flying away along with Branyan in the cartoon airplane.

  • NJ

    Thanks for your effort, Austin.

    Growing old is no fun and AK sure seemed to age a whole lot over the last year, especially when compared to all the youth surrounding him.

    Choo is back and we’re ready to roll. The injury was on his throwing hand, right? Hope it doesn’t hurt that cannon of his too much.

  • Ghost To Most

    I feel bad for Kearns because this could be the end of the road for him. However, it had to be done. Hoping Choo can find something close to his old form, if he does we may still have a shot at this thing.

  • tribefan1968

    Kearns will probably be joining Adam Everett and Jensen Lewis on the unemployment line. All great guys who couldn’t make it anymore.

    I hope Choo can hit like he did before the injury – not too confident in immediate contribution since he was 0 for 6 at low A Lake County. Still not hard to beat Kearns stat line.

    I expect biggest immediate benefit of Choo will be defensively, as teams will think twice about going from 1st to 3rd on balls hit to right field.

  • Anthony

    Couple this with some winnable games coming up, I like where we are headed. Just think about how our lineup could look tonight when you think about the June lineup that contained Kearns, Duncan, Marson, and Adam Everett at the same time.

    Brantley
    Kipnis
    Asdrubal
    Hafner
    Santana
    Choo
    Fukudome
    Chiz
    LaPorta/Marson

    Looks a heck of a lot better, doesn’t it?

  • Shamrock

    @Anthony – Choo is needed but before last night the Indians had 6 guys batting .260 and below. They’ll need to pitch their brains out to make up for the lineup. Maybe in the offseason they will add a guy with some offensive skills.