Indians designate Neil Ramirez for assignment

In an unsurprising move the Cleveland Indians have designated relief pitcher Neil Ramirez for assignment and called up Adam Plutko.

It was a long time coming. The Cleveland Indians designated Neil Ramirez for assignment. This appears to be for two reasons. First off a lack of success for Ramirez and secondly to make room for Adam Plutko. Plutko will be starting Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Neil Ramirez has not been all that effective in his time with the Indians. Ramirez has a career ERA of 4.78 in two seasons in Cleveland. This number looks slightly better due to his 4.54 ERA last year, which really is not all that great. Ramirez has an ERA of 5.40 this season in 16 games.

Neil Ramirez has given up 10 runs in 16 innings this season. The majority of which (7) have come since mid-April. In his last 10 appearances opponents are slashing .293/.375/.659 with an OPS 1.034. This is a slash line that a team wants out of one of their best hitters and not against one of their relievers.

Over the last 10 games Ramirez has allowed 12 hits and walked six batters over 10.2 innings. Four of the 12 hits allowed by Ramirez have been home runs. This is a huge problem.

Considering the question marks and large turnover in the Indians bullpen coming into the season, Cleveland could not afford what Neil Ramirez has done so far. In fact Ramirez has been Cleveland’s worst reliever this season.

With the contributions of other relievers on the roster the decision to designate Ramirez for assignment appears to be fairly easy. Cleveland needs to maximize the performances of their relievers, especially when their offense has been far from consistent this season. A bad outing from a relief pitcher could turn a win into a loss. With the Indians currently trailing the Twins in the standings, this is not what the teams at this juncture.