Opening Day is just a week away and we now have a better idea of what the Cleveland Indians roster will look like when they face the Seattle Mariners on March 29.
Via their Twitter account, the Indians announced a series of moves to trim their active roster to 25 players. Among the moves made by the Cleveland were the following:
- Veteran outfielder Rajai Davis will be apart of the Indians' Opening Day roster.
- Outfielder Greg Allen and pitcher Ben Taylor have been optioned to Triple-A Columbus.
- Pitcher Alexi Ogando has been reassigned.
- Infielder Gio Urshella will begin the season on the DL, allowing Erik Gonzalez to make the Indians' Opening Day roster.
The addition of Davis is notable as the Indians reacquired the veteran outfielder on a minor league contract prior to the start of spring training. Davis had spent the 2016 season with Cleveland and hit the game-tying home run in Game 7 of the World Series in the Indians' eventual loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Davis, 37, started last season with the Oakland Athletics before being traded to the Boston Red Sox. In 117 games, he hit for a .235 average to go along with 5 home runs and 20 runs batted in, in addition to accumulating 29 stolen bases.
The other notable move made by the Indians on Thursday was the decision to start the season with Gonzalez on the big league roster as Urshella recovers from a hamstring injury on the DL. Eventually, Cleveland will have to make a decision between the two players, who are each out of minor league options with the team.
