The Indians have signed 32-year old righty reliever Saul Rivera to a minor league deal. Rivera pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs after the Indians traded him there and he was 0-0 with a 22.09 ERA and a 3.82 WHIP. He pitched in 15 games (0 starts) earlier this year for the Indians in which he was 2-0 with 4 saves, a 0.53 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Rivera has pitched in 249 games (0 starts) in his five years in the majors and he is 13-15 with 4 saves, a 4.29 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. The Indians will likely call Rivera up when rosters expand if he gets off to a good start in the minors for them this time around.

The Indians have acquired 22-year old righty starting pitcher Zach McAllister from the Yankees to complete the Austin Kearns trade. McAllister came into this season as the Yankees’ #5 prospect according to Baseball America. McAllister started 24 games this year in AAA-ball for the Yankees and he was 8-10 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He has now pitched in 98 games (86 starts) in his five years in the minors and he is 38-32 with 1 save, a 3.40 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. This deal might look like a steal down the road for the Indians as McAllister has a nice upside.

The Indians have acquired 29-year old switch hitting catcher Luke Carlin from the Pirates for a player to be named later. Carlin has played in 63 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 49 of 205 (.239 avg, .648 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 2 homers, 23 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has also played in 46 games in his major league career and he is 17 of 112 (.152 avg, .469 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. Carlin has also whiffed 37 times in his major league career as his swing has a lot of holes in it. This was nothing more than a trade to build organizational depth for the Indians.

The Indians have signed 26-year old lefty reliever Hunter Jones to a minor league deal. Jones has pitched in 10 games (7 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 0-5 with a 4.17 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. He also pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP. Jones has now pitched in 14 games (0 starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 8.16 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. This was a signing with the future in mind as the Marlins gave up on Jones because he was injured.

The Indians have claimed 27-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Drew Sutton off waivers from the Reds. Sutton has played in 2 games for the Reds this season and he was 2 for 3 (.667 avg, 2.333 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Sutton also played in 84 games this season in AAA-ball and he was 69 of 263 (.262 avg, .731 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 3 homers, 27 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Sutton has now played in 44 games in his major league career and he is 16 of 69 (.232 avg, .717 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 13 RBIs. This was a good move for the Indians who will stash Sutton at AAA.