CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) - The Cleveland Indians have recalled pitcher Eli Morgan from Triple-A, and have also optioned infielder Eli Morgan to Columbus.
When asked about potential plans for use of his newly recalled right-hander during Tuesday's pregame presser, Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona's answer was brief.
"If I knew that, I wouldn't answer it," Francona chuckled.
The Indians' skipper did emphasize, however, that Morgan could again see action sooner rather than later.
"The one thing I told him was, 'There's a pretty good chance you're going to pitch, kid.' We honestly don't know where. You could look at the schedule kind of like I do, and we've got to fill some openings."
Morgan, 25, returns to Cleveland after a tough opening career start back on May 28, in which he went 2.2 innings and gave up eight hits and six earned runs to the Toronto Blue Jays in an 11-2 rain-shortened loss at Progressive Field. Since returning to the minors, the right-hander has made only one appearance: a June 8 start in which he threw for 3.2 innings, giving up four hits and three earned runs (with two strikeouts) in a no-decision to the Iowa Cubs.
Miller, 24, had seen himself work around the Tribe infield since his call-up at the end of May. In 15 games over 48 plate appearances, Miller racked up a .109/.130/.276 slash line with five hits, one double, no home runs, and one RBI, along with 23 strikeouts and two walks. He had faired better in the field, committing no errors to go with six putouts and nine assists.
Francona also talked about his club's adjustments to the pitching plans as veteran arms like Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac find themselves on the IL.
"Some of it's going to be dependent on how far guys like [Jean-Carlos] Mejia, [Cal] Quantrill, how far they go in a game, where if they get to a point where we've got to get them on five days' rest...there's a pretty good chance [Morgan] we could bring him back a day early, since he went 55 pitches. We're going to try to monitor that the best we can."
Francona also admitted Tuesday night's pitching result against the Baltimore Orioles would determine Cleveland's currently TBD starter for Thursday's series finale against the O's.
Tito on the memo - Francona was also asked about the newly released memo to all major league clubs regarding MLB's new foreign substance guidances.
"It was pretty to the point and self-explanatory...I don't think anything's perfect, and I don't think anybody claims that it is, but I think it just got a little bit of a life of its own...They said it's not going to be perfect. You're asking umpires to do something they've never really done. There's probably going to be some hiccups, but I understand what they're trying to do."
The new league guidelines state that, starting June 21, any pitcher who possesses or applies foreign substances in violation of the rules will be ejected from the game and automatically suspended for 10 games with pay. Starting pitchers will have more than one mandatory check per game, and relievers must be checked at the end of the inning when they enter or are taken out of the game (whichever comes first).
Inspections will take place between innings or during pitching changes to give the umpires ample time to perform a thorough check without delaying the game.
Tito also was asked if he remembered his players complaining about the movement of pitches during the first few weeks of the season: "I really didn't. I mean, I don't think during a game...I just don't remember that. Maybe down at the end of the bench, who knows? It's not like we have long conversations as they go past me."
When asked if he expected any unintended consequences to follow the new guidelines, Francona responded: "I think everybody's kind of wondering what that could be. My guess is, you'll probably see something, yeah...I'm sure that's a concern of everybody's."
Updates on Plesac and Perez - As the Indians are starting to look somewhat thin in the starting pitcher's pool, one name that would be very welcome back into the rotation is right-hander Zach Plesac. Plesac, who has been inactive since late May with a thumb injury, will see a specialist during the Indians' road trip to Pittsburgh this weekend, and will be joined in the check-up by catcher Roberto Perez, who went on the IL back in early May following surgery for a fractured right ring finger.
"They can get their recheck in Pittsburgh, and we'll have a much more defined plan after that," Francona stated.
Word from Bieber - Indians ace Shane Bieber also spoke before Tuesday's game, a day after the right-hander was placed on the IL with a shoulder injury, Bieber, who had gone 7-4 with a 3.28 earned run average, talked about his frustration with the setback.
"Just try to keep things in perspective, that it's more about the long term than it is the short term," Bieber said Tuesday. "Not just for me, but for the team, and for this season, specifically...got to come out better on the other side."
"Obviously this is a super unfortunate time for something like this to happen," said Bieber. "I'm frustrated. Nobody's more frustrated than I am, but it is what it is, and you've got to keep things in perspective, and keep the big picture in mind.
The right-hander also addressed the team's injury issues with the rotation, saying he and his teammates will still have to work together to get past some health woes.
"We've been facing adversity since the beginning of the season...and we've been handling it well. It's a full team effort, and it's going to continue to be. Yeah, this is bad timing, and I'm frustrated and upset about it, but at the end of the day, it is what it is, but we've got to face it and...just get better, and get healthy."