CLEVELAND, Ohio — In desperate need of starting pitching help following Shane Bieber’s shoulder injury, the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday recalled 25-year-old righty Eli Morgan from Triple-A Columbus. In a corresponding move, the club optioned struggling rookie infielder Owen Miller to make room on the 26-man roster.
Miller batted .146 with a double, an RBI and 23 strikeouts in 46 at-bats after being promoted to Cleveland on May 23 when Franmil Reyes went on the injured list with an oblique injury. At the time he was promoted from Columbus he was hitting .406 with a 1.067 OPS and eight extra-base hits through 16 games.
Morgan, who made his big league debut in a driving rain storm against Toronto on May 28, was optioned back to the Clippers a week later when Bobby Bradley joined the roster. He made only one start, lasting 2 2/3 innings and allowing six runs on eight hits, including a home run.
Morgan has made four starts for the Clippers this year, going 0-1 with a 4.67 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings. He posted six shutout innings at Toledo in a start on May 21. Manager Terry Francona said it’s not immediately clear how the Indians will use Morgan.
“The one thing I told him was, ‘There’s a pretty good chance you’re gonna pitch, kid,’” Francona said. “We honestly don’t know where.”
Francona said the Indians have openings to fill, but some of that is going to depend on how far pitchers such as J.C. Mejia and Tuesday’s starter Cal Quantrill are able to go in their games.
“If they get to a point where we have to get them every five days, or with Mejía, there’s a pretty good chance we can bring him back a day early because he went 55 pitches (on Monday),” Francona said. “We’re gonna try to monitor that the best we can.”
For the time being, Francona said each night after a game he will sit down with pitching coach Carl Willis and figure out a plan based on who is available for how long the next day.
“We’ll sit there and try to put our heads together, and the other guys will be in there and try to figure out where we are, just making sure we have everything covered,” Francona said.
The challenge for Indians pitchers will be to remain flexible.
“I explained to them that we’re asking them to do some things that they actually didn’t do in the minor leagues,” Francona said. “Now they’re in the big leagues, which is a little harder, and we’re asking them to do some different things.”
The uncertainty could make the reward seem even greater, he said.
“If we pull together, we have a chance to have some fun figuring out ways to win as opposed to ‘woe is us,’” Francona said. “But we might have to get a little creative.”
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