Tribe calls up International League's HR leader

CLEVELAND -- A Sunday morning in a big league clubhouse is often quiet. Players and coaches are still waking up, some are over in the team’s chapel and there’s no batting practice on the field. But this Sunday, a 23-year-old ball of energy burst into the Tribe’s clubhouse.

The Indians announced that they called up the organization's No. 6 prospect, first baseman Bobby Bradley, and optioned reliever Josh D. Smith prior to Sunday’s 8-3 win over the Tigers. Bradley notched his first big league hit and RBI in his Major League debut.

“These are fun days for us, I admit that,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He came in this morning, and the rest of us are a little bit tired, and he came bouncing in this morning and said, ‘I need some ground balls.’ It’s funny. It’s fun to see a kid this excited.”

“I still don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Bradley said. “I don’t think it will be ... it’s the same game. Personally, it means a little bit more to be able to play in front of these fans here and just knowing that a lifelong dream came true.”

The call

Bradley was taking ground balls on Saturday with Triple-A Columbus when his manager, Tony Mansolino, called him over. His skipper told him that he had made the Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game, but the Indians didn’t want Bradley to play in it for fear of injury. Bradley thought that made sense, and asked if that meant he’d also have to skip playing in the Triple-A All-Star Game. The response caught him by surprise.

“He said, ‘Yeah, they don’t want you in either of those, because you’re going to Cleveland,’” Bradley said. “It took me a second to realize what he just said, but once it finally got through my head, excitement kicked in.”

Bradley grabbed his phone and called his mom, who happened to be in Columbus this weekend, to give her the news.

“I called her and told her that I wasn’t playing that night and that I was going to be in Cleveland today,” Bradley said. “It took her a couple of seconds to realize what I just said. I had to repeat it a couple times. But then I just heard screaming through the phone. Her and my sisters were just the happiest people ever.”

Bradley made the drive from Columbus to Cleveland later that evening, ready to make his Major League debut on Sunday, playing first base and batting seventh with his mom, two older sisters, his mother’s friend and his longtime buddy in the stands.

“I had to put [the car] on cruise control,” Bradley said. “I couldn’t keep my foot off the gas. I just wanted to get up here so fast.”

El Asesino

For anyone who has followed the Columbus Clippers this season, the name, “The Assassin,” should ring a bell. Bradley was given the nickname by teammate Argenis Angulo in 2014 for his offensive power.

“I love it. It’s awesome,” Bradley said. “I kind of kept it around. This year, it took off big time.”

It had a chance to take off given the fact that the 23-year-old slugger currently leads the International League in home runs (24) and slugging percentage (.638). He’s hit 17 doubles, drawn 24 walks and knocked in 55 runs in 67 games in the farm system’s highest tier. The biggest concern with Bradley has been his strikeout rate, getting punched out 91 times in 257 at-bats this season. But the reports on every other facet of his game have been through the roof.

“[Mansolino] said his baserunning is better,” Francona said. “His defense is better. His ability to not just swing the bat, but try to be intelligent at the plate and understand what people are doing to him has improved greatly. … Guys that hit with that much power, there’s going to be some swing-and-miss. That’s part of it. It just seems that overall, he’s maturing. Like most [23]-year-olds do, you start to grow up and that’s part of it.”

Bradley has hit .292 with a .997 OPS in Columbus. In 2018, the first baseman hit 27 homers in 129 games between Double-A and Triple-A, but has already launched 24 on the season in Columbus. He has also hit .319 with nine roundtrippers off left-handed pitching.

“Regardless of what happens today, it’s not going to define who he is,” Francona said. “This is a kid that drives the ball. He’s not trying to hit a ball over the third baseman’s head. He’s trying to drive the ball in the gaps and hit home runs. We just want him to be who he is. And then we’ll see what adjustments he has to make.”