Allen, Bradley among Tribe's spring roster cuts

CLEVELAND -- Baseball may be on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, but roster moves can still be made.

When Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti addressed the media via conference call on Thursday morning, he specified that rosters are not frozen during this time. A few hours later, the club released its third round of spring cuts, as Logan Allen, Scott Moss, Bobby Bradley, Daniel Johnson, and Yu Chang were sent to Triple-A Columbus.

Before the season was suspended, Allen, a left-handed pitcher, was in the running to potentially make the Opening Day roster since Mike Clevinger (partial meniscus tear in left knee) and Carlos Carrasco (right elbow inflammation) were questionable for the first week of the season. Now that this unexpected time off should mean that they’ll be cleared by the time the season begins, Allen no longer has a place in the rotation. In his four Cactus League appearances (two starts), Allen allowed eight runs (four earned) in 6 1/3 frames (5.68 ERA) with five strikeouts and seven walks.

Moss was another lefty starter that could’ve been a rotation option, however, the 25-year-old has only four starts at the Triple-A level under his belt. In three Cactus League games, including one start, Moss allowed two runs on three hits through 5 2/3 frames with eight strikeouts and five walks.

Bradley was a power bat that may have been more in the running to make the Opening Day roster prior to the signing of Domingo Santana the day before position players arrived at camp. But because Santana is expected to handle a lot of the DH duties and Carlos Santana is locked in at first base, Bradley didn’t fit in the puzzle. But if the power he showed through the Minors last season and Spring Training carries over into the 2020 regular season, then it seems likely Bradley will be back in the big leagues at some point during the 2020 season. In 27 at-bats in Cactus League action, he hit .333 with a 1.061 OPS, three homers and seven RBIs.

Johnson is another victim of the roster numbers game. Because the Indians currently have 10 outfielders on the 40-man roster, it was hard to see how he’d be able to crack through to break camp with the club. However, he proved last season in the Minors that he’s not far away from his first callup. The 24-year-old hit .267 with one triple and three RBIs in 15 Cactus League at-bats.

Chang was up against Mike Freeman and Christian Arroyo for the utility job. In 28 at-bats, Chang hit .250 with a .740 OPS, one homer, three doubles and four RBIs.