GOODYEAR, Ariz. – The Indians’ opening day roster is finally starting to take shape.
A week away from the season opener at Progressive Field, Cleveland made a flurry of announcements Friday, the most notable being that right-hander Josh Tomlin had won the final spot in the starting rotation over right-hander Jeanmar Gomez and lefty David Huff.
“Josh, I think, carried a lot of what he did last year in the minor leagues and with us (in the majors) into spring training,” Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said. “He’s a great competitor, he’s got a great mix of pitches and pounds the strike zone, and he continued to do that this spring and won the job.”
Tomlin, like Gomez, had an effective stint with the Indians at the end of last season, but was clearly the better pitcher during the exhibition season, going 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in three games (one start) despite getting fewer opportunities on the big league level than Huff (2-1, 5.82 in six games, two starts) and Gomez (0-1, 5.50, six games, two starts).
Tomlin had a big league start rained out and pitched in a pair of minor league games.
“He’s done what he did last year,” manager Manny Acta said of Tomlin, who went 6-4 with a 4.56 ERA in 12 starts in 2010. “He throws strikes, mixes his pitches and is effective. That’s what makes him good.”
Gomez and Huff were optioned to Triple-A Columbus, as was another starting pitcher, right-hander Anthony Reyes, who is still attempting to come back from Tommy John surgery and was reassigned to minor league camp.
Tomlin won the final job in the all-righty rotation, but Acta announced that he will open the season as the fourth starter in front of Mitch Talbot. Fausto Carmona, Carlos Carrasco and Justin Masterson will hold down the top three spots.
“We wanted to break up the sinkerballers (Carmona and Masterson),” Acta said. “We felt like the way things went in camp and the way things went last year, that Tomlin had earned that spot.”
Travis Buck and Shelley Duncan will open the season as the Indians extra outfielders, with Duncan also able to play first base if needed.
Buck, who was released after an injury-plagued tenure with Oakland and signed by Cleveland to a free-agent minor league contract this offseason, has been the club’s most productive offensive player this spring. He’s hitting .420 (21-for-50) with four home runs and 12 RBIs in 17 games, leading the Indians in nearly every hitting category.
“It’s great to see Travis healthy,” Antonetti said of 27-year-old Arizona State product, who has made five trips to the disabled list since 2007. “What we’ve seen in camp is a versatile outfielder who can play all three positions, and he continued to put up consistent at-bats.”
With Buck’s spot all but secured, Duncan edged Chad Huffman, who was claimed off waivers from the Yankees this offseason and has enjoyed an impressive camp – .359 (14-for-39) with three homers and 12 RBIs in 18 games.
“Along with Buck, Huffman clearly has had the best camp so far,” Acta said. “At the same time, Shelley didn’t do anything not to make the team, and he contributed to the club last year.”
Outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, who was acquired in the Russell Branyan trade with Seattle last year and was still in big league camp, was reassigned to minor league camp, while Huffman, 25, will remain with the Indians through their exhibition game in Columbus on Wednesday. He is expected to start the season at Columbus.
The Indians also announced some less than surprising decisions.
Antonetti said veteran Orlando Cabrera, who signed a one-year, $1 million contract in the offseason, will be the Indians starter at second base.
Jack Hannahan, a free-agent acquisition from Seattle, took advantage of an injury to Jason Donald to win the third base job, but he might have earned it without Donald’s bad luck, thanks to an impressive exhibition effort in the field and at the plate.
“It’s hard to look at those hypotheticals,” Antonetti said. “I can tell you that Jack had a very good camp. He did a very good job of seizing an opportunity.”
Hannahan, 31, is a proven defender on the big league level, but the career .224 hitter has also produced offensively this spring – .386 (17-for-44) with five doubles and four RBIs in 18 games.
“He felt that he got in some bad habits the last couple years,” Antonetti said. “He worked on some things that gave him the chance to be successful at the plate this spring.”
“He came and did what was advertised,” Acta said. “We’re not asking him to hit a bunch of home runs and lead this team offensively. We feel comfortable with this guy when he’s out there playing defense.”
Luis Valbuena and Jayson Nix were in the race for both the second base and third base jobs, and along with veteran Adam Everett, still have shots at making the team as the utility infielder – one of the final decisions left before the end of the exhibition season.
The Indians will also have to fill the final three spots in their bullpen, one of them made available with right-hander Joe Smith likely to open the season on the disabled list with a strained abdominal muscle.
Right-hander Doug Mathis left the relief race between right-handers Justin Germano, Frank Herrmann, Jess Todd and Vinnie Pestano when he was reassigned to minor league camp Friday.
The Indians still haven’t chosen a backup for catcher Carlos Santana. Lou Marson, who spent a large part of last season as Cleveland’s starter, is considered the favorite against veteran Paul Phillips and Luke Carlin.
Acta said those final decisions would be made in the next few days.
Return engagement?
Grady Sizemore (microfracture surgery left knee) has predicted that he could join the Indians before May, but Antonetti’s timetable for the three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove award winner, is a bit more vague.
“It’s hard to figure out exactly what the timetable will be,” Antonetti said.
“We’re hopeful that it will be closer to the start of the season and not later. There’s a progression that any player would have to go through, let alone, one coming off an injury.”
Order up
Though Acta has not officially announced it, the Indians batting order is expected to look like this: Michael Brantley, Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Santana, Travis Hafner, Cabrera, Austin Kearns, Matt LaPorta and Hannahan.
Home again
The Indians accepted RHP Jose Flores back from Seattle after the Mariners selected him in the Rule V Draft but could not find a spot for him on the big league roster. Seattle paid $50,000 to acquire Flores, with the Indians now responsible for half that.
Flores, who went 1-1 with a 2.14 ERA and six saves last year for Class A Lake County, is expected to report to Goodyear today and will be assigned to minor league camp.
Roundin’ third
Infielder Cord Phelps was reassigned to minor league camp after the Indians’ loss to the Brewers in Maryvale.
• Tonight, 10:05, vs. Giants at Goodyear Ballpark, WTAM 1100-AM (live). Tomlin (1-0, 1.13) vs. Ryan Vogelsong (2-2, 2.87).
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
FRIDAY’S GAME
BREWERS (16-9-1) 7, INDIANS (13-12-2) 4
HITS
Travis Hafner hit his first home run of the spring, a solo shot off Cameron Loe in the eighth inning.
• Closer Chris Perez retired the side in order with one strikeout in the ninth.
• Asdrubal Cabrera, Orlando Cabrera and Michael Brantley all had multihit games.
MISSES
Mitch Talbot returned to his disappointing early exhibition season performance in his sixth start. The right-hander allowed a whopping seven runs and 14 hits (two home runs) over six innings.
• Shin-Soo Choo struck out in all four of his plate appearances.
• ATTENDANCE: 4,775 at Maryvale Baseball Park (Maryvale, Ariz.).
THURSDAY’S GAME
INDIANS (13-11-2) 7, GIANTS (18-10) 1
HITS
Left-hander David Huff worked his best outing of the spring by far. He tossed five shutout innings, allowed only three hits and struck out two.
• Third baseman Jack Hannahan, catcher Luke Carlin and right fielder Chad Huffman all had multihit games for Cleveland. Huffman drove in four runs with a double and his third home run. Carlin hit his first homer.
• Jeanmar Gomez followed Huff and allowed a run on three hits and a walk. He struck out six.
MISSES
Left fielder Austin Kearns went 0-for-4 and struck out twice.
• First baseman Matt LaPorta went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, as his exhibition average dipped to .163 (8-for-49) in 17 games.
• ATTENDANCE: 10,292 at Scottsdale Stadium.
