Third baseman Giovanny Urshela, a potential in-house option for the Indians at third base pending the seriousness of a knee injury suffered in winter ball, is one of five players added to the major league club’s 40-man roster on Nov. 20.
Also added to the roster were left-handed pitcher Ryan Merritt, right-handers Cody Anderson and Shawn Armstrong and catcher/infielder Tony Wolters.
The Indians’ 40-man roster now stands at 40.
Urshela, a 23-year-old right-handed hitter, hit .280 with 18 home runs and 84 RBI in a combined 485 at bats at Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Akron in 2014. Urshela was hitting .398 with 3 homers and 22 RBI in 108 at bats for Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League before suffering a left knee injury while running the bases on Nov. 15. He has come to
Cleveland for further tests by Indians doctors.
At the time of his injury Urshela was leading the Venezuelan League in hitting and was second in RBI.
In 25 starts for high Class-A Carolina in 2014, Merritt, 22, was 13-3 with a 2.58 ERA. He led the Carolina league in wins and innings pitched (160) and was third in ERA and fourth in strikeouts (127). He led all Indians minor league pitchers in ERA and was second in wins and third in innings. He was the Indians’ 16th round pick in the 2011 June Draft.
Anderson, 24, was 4-11 with a 5.44 ERA in 25 starts at Akron. In 2013 he was the Indians’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year and the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year after going 9-4 with a 2.34 ERA at Carolina. He was the Indians’ 14th round pick in the 2011 June Draft and was recently named by Baseball America as the 10th best prospect in the Indians’ organization.
Armstrong, a 24-year-old reliever, averaged 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings and held opposing batters to a .213 batting average in going 6-2 with a 2.41 ERA in a combined 49 appearances for Columbus and Akron in 2014. In four minor league seasons Armstrong has held opposing hitters to a .212 batting average while averaging 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He was an 18th round pick in the 2011 June Draft.
Wolters was a third round pick in the 2010 June Draft. His 2014 season was cut short by a knee injury. In 341 at bats at Akron he hit .249 with 1 home run and 34 RBI, while appearing in 66 games at catcher – throwing out 47 percent of would-be base stealers – and 18 games between shortstop and second base.
