The Indians made two roster moves before tonight’s game against the Boston Red Sox. First, they recalled Zach McAllister from Columbus to make the start in place of Josh Tomlin. Tomlin, who injured his right wrist reportedly gripping the ball too hard in his last start on Monday, was placed on the 15-day DL.
In an additional move, the team also optioned Jason Donald to Triple-A Columbus and recalled Jose Lopez. Donald has struggled defensively at both third base and shortstop and is hitting just .178/.188/.178 with 4 RBI in 45 at-bats this season. Lopez was designated for assignment when the Tribe activated Johnny Damon, and he was hitting .190/.190/.381 with 1 homer and 3 RBI in 21 at-bats. He cleared waivers and ended up in Columbus, where he is red hot, hitting .522/.542/.696 with 4 RBI in 6 games (23 at-bats).
The one drawback is the Donald move leaves the team with a backup shortstop of either Lopez (57 career games at short, all in his 2004 rookie season) or Jack Hannahan (2 career games in 2009).
To open up the 40-man roster spot for Lopez once again, the Indians designated OF Nick Weglarz for assignment. Weglarz, 24, is hitting just .202/.295/.333 with 3 HR and 12 RBI at Double-A Akron. The third round pick of the 2005 draft has battled injuries and fallen out of the team’s future plans.
