Reinstated LHSP CC Sabathia from the 15-day Disabled List
From the looks of his performance, Sabathia appears to be over his oblique strain. CC was consistently reaching the mid-90s with his fastball, and his control was excellent; he walked only one batter. Thus far, pitching doesn’t seem to be the weak link in the Indians’ chain. With the return of Sabathia, Jason Davis moves into the “6th starter” role, where he’ll relieve a starter who left early, or pitch multiple inning stretches during blowouts. This leaves one of the existing bullpen members out in the cold, and the winner is…..
Optioned RHP Matt Miller to Buffalo (AAA)
Unfortunately for Miller, he had an option remaining, so he gets sent to Buffalo. The ROOGY hasn’t been used too much in the first two weeks of the season, and although he’s sporting an ERA of 0.00, he’ll join folks like Fernando Cabrera, Andrew Brown, and Jake Robbins in the Bisons’ pen. Rafael Betancourt was the other possible demotee, but he’s been even better than Miller, not allowing a hit in his 7.2 IP thus far. I think he’s in a role where he can thrive as long as he’s not overused; he can give you 2 inning stretches once or twice a week. Of course, now that Jason Davis is now a part of the bullpen, he might only be asked to go an inning at a time, but the use caveat still should apply.