The Indians have announced the promotion of veteran right-hander Ryan Webb in an attempt to bolster their battered bullpen. Outfielder Jerry Sands has been designated for assignment to create a roster space.
"We just got to the point because of some early exits (by our starters) and some inconsistencies in our bullpen that we felt we needed another arm," manager Terry Francona said, per the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "We did not want to designate Jerry. He kind of grew on everybody. But the fact of the matter is we needed the arm and Swish (Nick Swisher) is on the horizon. I'm not talking about tomorrow, but sometime we need to look at the big picture when it comes to making decisions and we did. It was not a lot of fun telling Jerry that because he's such a good kid."
The 29-year-old journeyman pitcher has been impressive at Triple-A Columbus with one run and four hits allowed in 8 1/3 innings.
The latest disaster by the Indians bullpen was Tuesday night when it gave up eight runs from the sixth inning on to blow a 5-3 lead.