Indians sign Cameron Rupp to minor-league deal

The Cleveland Indians have signed catcher Cameron Rupp to a minor-league deal and will extend an invite to spring training.

The Cleveland Indians have signed former Philadelphia Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp to a minor-league deal Friday. The Tribe will invite Rupp to spring training in Arizona. Rupp’s last Major League appearance was back in 2017, having spent the past two seasons in the minors with five different organizations.

Cameron Rupp is not a great hitter by any means, his .234/.298/.407 slash line is not impressive. Rupp’s best season came in 2016 in Philadelphia, slashing .233/.301/.374 with an OPS of .675. Rupp finished with 26 doubles, 16 home runs, and 54 RBIs in 105 games that season. This was more of a one-off season for Rupp rather than an accurate representation of his abilities at the plate.

When evaluating the Cleveland Indians roster, there is not a lot of depth at the catcher position. Roberto Perez is the clear starter with Sandy Leon in the mix as the backup. There was another option in Eric Haase, but he is not in the organization anymore. Haase’s hometown Detroit Tigers acquired the catcher almost a month ago, creating an opportunity for the 31-year old catcher. The Indians needed to find another catcher to bring to Arizona in addition to Perez and Leon. There is definitely room in the organization to see what, if anything he can provide.

There should not come a point that Cameron Rupp is seeing meaningful at-bats for the Indians this season. If for some reason Rupp is in the starting lineup on a regular basis, something must have gone seriously wrong.