Oscar Mercado optioned to Triple-A; RHP Trevor Stephan told he will make Cleveland Indians’ roster – cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Oscar Mercado will not be on the roster when the Cleveland Indians open their season in 11 days, but reliever Trevor Stephan found out Sunday that he has made the club, manager Terry Francona said.

Mercado, once seen as the future in center field for the Indians, struggled through the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, hitting .128 in 36 games and looking overwhelmed before being optioned in August.

This season, Mercado found himself in competition with Bradley Zimmer when training camp began. When Amed Rosario moved from shortstop to the outfield midway through camp, Mercado appeared to put pressure on himself, batting .214 with a .527 OPS in 10 exhibition games.

Francona said Mercado needs some space without major-league games hanging over his head to get back to where he can help the ballclub.

“We’ve seen it,” Francona said. “He’s seen it and he’s felt it. Nobody’s giving up on him, and we wanted to make sure he understood that.”

Francona said Indians coaches will put together a plan for Mercado with input from hitting coach Ty VanBurkleo that will give the 26-year-old a chance to return. In the meantime, he will open the season at the Indians’ depth camp, likely in Columbus until the minor-league season opens.

Indians manager Terry Francona told Trevor Stephan that he would make the ballclub’s opening day roster.AP

Stephan, 25, was Cleveland’s pick from the Yankees back in December during the major-league portion of baseball’s Rule 5 draft. He must remain on the roster throughout the season, or be offered back to New York for half the draft fee of $100,000.

A third-round pick out from the University of Arkansas by the Yankees in the 2017 MLB draft, Stephan climbed as high as the No. 7 in the organization’s prospect rankings back in 2018, but a disastrous 2019 season led to New York leaving him unprotected. He’s been reborn as a reliever with Cleveland.

Stephan has had an impressive camp thus far, appearing in seven games and pitching to a 2.45 ERA across 7 1/3 innings. The hard-throwing righty has 10 strikeouts and just two walks, allowing one home run to the 30 batters he’s faced.

Francona said Stephan smiled and then dashed out of the office to call his family when informed that he had made the club.

“We told him, we said ‘We Rule 5’d you because we like your arm,’” Francona said. “But we kept him on our ballclub because we think he has poise. We saw him fight back from a tough outing against the Dodgers. There’s a lot to like about this kid.”

Francona said the conversation with Mercado was a longer one.

“We didn’t want him to feel like he was on an island,” Francona said. “I think mentally he has beaten himself up. And he kind of owned up to that, too.”

At the end of the meeting, Francona told Mercado that Sunday’s move could be an opportunity for him if he views it as such.

“He said he did, and that was big,” Francona said. “For today, I thought that was a great way to end.”

Taylor, Freeman, Miller optioned: Other players informed Sunday that they would not make the club included catcher Beau Taylor and infielders Tyler Freeman and Owen Miller. All three will remain with the major league camp for the time being, Francona said.

Freeman and Miller, though not expected to make the club at the outset of camp, accounted for themselves well.

“We’ll probably move them around the diamond, not because we think they’re utility players, but we don’t want to close the door on them where, say there’s a need at the major-league level and you’re like ‘Well, he doesn’t really play there,’” Francona said. “We’re just trying to have more doors open than just one.”

Francona continued to praise Miller’s hitting tools, saying the club’s No. 18 prospect looks like he can hold his own against good pitching.

“He uses the whole field, and he has a knack of being able to bring his hands in and keep the ball fair down the left field line,” Francona said. “He’s just a really good hitter.”

Kansas City Royals v Cleveland Indians — Owen Miller will move around the diamond at the Indians’ depth camp, according to Terry Francona.Getty Images

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