CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) - After trading Cesar Hernandez, Eddie Rosario, and Phil Maton via earlier deals, the Cleveland Indians continued their pre-trade deadline fire sale by sending outfielder Jordan Luplow and pitcher DJ Johnson to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for pitching prospect Peyton Battenfield.
The team announced the deal Friday afternoon after the 4 p.m. deadline passed.
Battenfield, 23, was one of Tampa Bay's top prospects, owning a career 1.94 earned run average in the minor leagues. A 9th-round pick by the Astros out of Oklahoma State University in 2019, Battenfeld, has recorded a 7-1 record for his MiLB career. This season, he was 5-0 between Low-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery, posting a combined ERA of 2.33 with 95 strikeouts and 12 walks.
Luplow, meanwhile, sees his time in Cleveland come to an end after two-plus seasons. The 27-year-old arrived to the Indians via a 2018 trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for Erik Gonzalez, Tahnaj Thomas, and Dante Mendoza (Max Moroff was also sent to Cleveland in the deal). With the Tribe, Luplow posted a .234/.348/.486 slash line with 94 hits, 24 home runs, 66 runs batted in, 66 walks, and 111 strikeouts. Over 121 plate appearances in 47 games for 2021, Luplow posted a .173 average with seven home runs (six in April) and 20 RBIs before sustaining a sore left ankle that sent Luplow to the 60-day IL. He had been working his way back to activation and was originally set to be with Cleveland for Friday night's game in Chicago against the White Sox.
Johnson, 31, began the season in Triple-A Columbus after signing with the Indians in February. Johnson had worked his way up to Cleveland in early July, but only made one appearance for the team: on July 7, Johnson pitched 1.2 innings and allowed two hits and one run in relief in an 8-1 Tribe loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
As Cleveland heads to the South Side for Friday's game - their first without manager Terry Francona after his bowing out from the rest of the 2021 campaign - the club is recalling infielder Owen Miller from Triple-A Columbus for the game. In 18 major league games this year, Miller has batted .106 with a double and an RBI.
Outfielder Bobby Bradley was placed on the bereavement list and is expected to miss one to three days.
