May 24, 2013

Indians Claim RHP Rick Vandenhurk off of Waivers

March 21, 2012 by 8 Comments

The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has claimed RHP Rick Vandenhurk off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays.  He will report to Major League camp in the coming days. To make room on the Tribe’s 40-man roster LHP Kelvin De La Cruz has been designated for assignment.

VandenHurk, 26, has pitched in parts of five major league seasons with Florida (2007-10) and Baltimore (2010-11), going 8-10 with a 5.97 ERA (120 ER/181.0 IP) in 46 games/35 starts. A native of the Netherlands, VandenHurk spent most of 2011 with Triple-A Norfolk (Baltimore), going 9-13, 4.43 (76 ER/154.1 IP) over 26 games/starts for the Tides, and also pitched in 4 games as a September call-up for the Orioles.

He was signed to a Major League contract by Toronto on Feb. 22 after being granted his unconditional release from Baltimore earlier in the month. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-hander has a career minor league record of 37-38 with a 3.86 ERA (268 ER/624.2 IP) in 124 games/123 starts. VanderHurk came to the United States as a catcher at the age of 16 and was signed by Florida as a pitcher in November 2002. He will wear #25.

[Related: The Indians over bet that wasn’t]

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Indians trade De La Cruz to Rangers

February 21, 2012 by 1 Comment

From the Indians:

The Indians traded left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz to the Rangers on Tuesday in exchange for cash considerations.

De La Cruz was designated for assignment on Feb. 13 to vacate a spot on Cleveland’s 40-man roster for recently-signed first baseman Casey Kotchman. The Indians signed Kotchman to a one-year contract worth $3 million earlier this month.

The 23-year-old De La Cruz spent last season with Double-A Akron — his second year at that level in the Tribe’s system. The lefty went 5-6 with a 4.19 ERA in 23 appearances, including 16 starts, in 2011 for the Aeros. De La Cruz struck out 95 and walked 57 over 86 innings.

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Aerodynamics: Catching up with the Double-A Akron Aeros 7/24/10

July 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Seven straight wins started the second half of the 2010 season for the Akron Aeros and moved the team into a great position for a playoff run. After continuing to dominate the last-place Erie SeaWolves for four contests, the Aeros then also swept the first-place Altoona Curve to move to only 5.5 games behind the division lead. This is the lowest margin for the team since mid-April while the seven games above .500 was also a season high. Led by many of the top young prospects in the Indians system such as Alex White, Jason Kipnis (pictured to the right) and others, this is a dangerous team that could continue to improve as the summer progresses.

The Aeros return home again Monday night for the start of a seven-game home stand. There are many specials going on from Christmas in July Tuesday to Tropical Beach Night Thirsty Thursday and Fireworks Friday Kids Cancer Survivors Celebration. Join the team at Canal Park for yet another exciting summer of Double-A baseball.

Last 10 Days: 7-2
Current Record: 52-47, 3rd place (of six) in the Eastern League’s Western Division

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Cleveland Sports Blog Outing Game Preview – Akron Aeros vs. Erie SeaWolves

July 15, 2010 by 3 Comments

For the second year in a row, many of your favorite WFNY writers will gather at an Akron Aeros game for a classic Thirsty Thursday at Canal Park. The contest starts tonight at 7:05 pm against the Erie SeaWolves, Akron’s closest rival in the Eastern League. Scott, Rick, Craig, Brendan and new WFNY weekend editor Brendan Bowers from Stepien Rules are all expected to be on hand along with our blogging friends from Cleveland Frowns, Scene ’64 and Counting, Land Loyalty and the Orange and Brown Report.

Tribe shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera will be starting for Akron tonight as he continues his rehab assignment from his fractured left forearm. Tonight is also affiliates night at Canal Park, featuring many of the top mascots in the Indians organization in the Progressive Field hot dogs, Slider, Lou Seal, Krash, Skipper and Scrappy. Thirsty Thursday then means that 12-oz. soft drinks and draft beer are only $1 until the end of the seventh inning.

So join WFNY and others for tonight’s contest in downtown Akron. Feel free to join us at the contest at Canal Park and more info about tonight’s Aeros game is below the jump:

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Tribe First Cuts: White, De La Cruz Among Them

March 15, 2010 by 2 Comments

In the world of mid-market baseball – especially for us this year – you have to set your sights low during spring training and take a look at the future. Prospect development is the name of the game.

It comes as no big surprise, but among the Indians first demotions to the minor league camp are 2009 #1 pick Alex White and top-tier pitching prospect Kelvin De La Cruz.  [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting… Brady Quinn’s Future, Roberto Alomar and Akron Zips Soccer

November 28, 2009 by 3 Comments

Hope you are fully recovered from your overdose of turkey from the past two days. Thanks for stopping by the site today, as While We’re Waiting always serves up an early morning plate of goodies for our readers. Here we usually share things pertinent to Cleveland sports and the greater Ohio area. Have something else you think that relates to that general topic? Feel free to send it over to us in the tips e-mail address in the right sidebar.

Brian Daboll and Brady QuinnHey Team Brady, check out this promising article about your favorite Notre Dame product. These comments from Daboll will maybe lift your spirits for the next few weeks of this depressing season. “Browns offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said he has “high hopes” for Brady Quinn’s future. ‘I think he’s a smart guy who has all of the intangibles that you look for,’ said Daboll. ‘You have to remember, he’s a young guy. He’s started eight games. If you go back, I am not going to compare him in history, but there’s a lot of numbers you can look at. How was Peyton (Manning) going to be after eight games? He had 11 touchdowns, 16 picks, 1-7 [record].’” [Mary Kay Cabot/Cleveland Plain Dealer]

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Cleveland Indians Offseason News: 40-Man Roster, Rule V Draft and Free Agency

November 21, 2009 by 4 Comments

Jeanmar GomezThe Indians brought seven new minor leagues into the mix on their their official 40-man roster Friday morning. TD first mentioned the story on the blog yesterday in talking about how Jordan Brown finally received his well worth promotion to the big leagues. That was not the only story of the day however, or even the Indians offseason as it stands right now, and thus here is a breakdown of the other players in that 40-man move and some other things for the coming weeks.

RHP Jeanmar Gomez: The young kid that threw a perfect game and also won Eastern League Pitcher of the Year honors for Akron this season led the class of the other six people rostered by the Indians yesterday. The 21-year-old Venezuelan is just a week older than close friend Hector Rondon, but showed similar promise last season. His final numbers of 10-4 with a 3.43 ERA in 22 Akron starts showed he is relatively close to MLB potential, and could be an option down the stretch this year if absolutely needed. He will probably start the season in Columbus alongside Rondon in 2010.

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