CLEVELAND: The Indians on Wednesday promoted relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong from Triple-A Columbus and demoted struggling reliever Austin Adams.
With the Indians this season, Adams has a 7.04 ERA and allowed a two-run home run in the ninth inning in Tuesday’s loss to the Minnesota Twins. Adams was a nice addition in the Indians’ bullpen when he was promoted in May but he has been roughed up in July.
Meanwhile, Armstrong hasn’t allowed a run in his last 12 appearances in Triple-A dating back to July 3. He’s spent nearly the entire season at Triple-A — where he was named an all-star — save for one appearance with the Indians on May 31.
With a 2.18 ERA and 13.5 k/9 ratio in Triple-A, Armstrong has gone through the tough process of being a reliever right on the cusp of the major leagues.
“He’s been pretty good lately,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “A lot of times with relievers — especially young relievers — they go through ups and downs. I think Triple-A, especially when you think you are going to be the guy called up and you are not, I think there are a lot of guys that have nights like that in Triple-A, which I understand.”
After Cody Allen, Andrew Miller and Bryan Shaw in the back end of the bullpen, along with Zach McAllister and Dan Otero next in line, Armstrong joins Kyle Crockett and Cody Anderson in the bullpen.
The Indians will have to amend the active 25-man roster on Thursday to make room for Michael Clevinger, who is slated to start Thursday’s game with Danny Salazar now on the 15-day disabled list.
Gomes update
Indians catcher Yan Gomes is still in the early stages of his rehab from a separated shoulder but progressing well, per Francona.
Gomes was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 18 with an expected recovery time of 4-to-8 weeks. Gomes is still working on returning the full range of motion in his shoulder.
“I would say he’s doing really good, considering where he started,” Francona said. “He’s got obviously a long way to go. He’s still trying to get the last bit of the swelling out of there, the fluid, because that gets in the way. … I will say, I get here early and he’s here every day. That’s not a surprise. He’ll be raring to go as quick as [he] can, but this thing, he can only do so much because he has to heal.”
The Indians hope when Gomes does return that the Silver Slugger-level catcher at the plate he was in 2014 returns as well. If Gomes has to sit out, one small positive might be his being able to find a better place mentally.
“You’re laying on the ground in Minnesota and I think you’ve probably got 9,000 things going through your head besides being really frustrated with how things are going for him,” Francona said. “But now maybe [he] gets a chance to sit back and take a deep breath and he’s got a goal now to get healthy and he wants to. So maybe when he comes back, kinda hit the reset button a little bit.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ.