Shaw back with Tribe on Minor League deal

CLEVELAND -- Bryan Shaw is heading back to Cleveland.

On Wednesday night, the Indians announced the signings of free-agent right-handers Shaw and DJ Johnson to Minor League contracts with non-roster invitations to Major League camp. According to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, Cleveland is also adding righty Heath Hembree on a Minor League deal. The Hembree deal has not been confirmed by the club.

For some, the memory of Shaw on the mound when the Cubs took a 10th-inning lead in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series following Rajai Davis’ game-tying two-run homer in the eighth is still too hard to stomach. However, in his five years with the Tribe, Shaw accumulated a club record of 110 holds with the second-most relief appearances in franchise history (378), trailing just Cody Allen (456).

Shaw posted a 3.11 ERA with 333 strikeouts in 358 2/3 frames for Cleveland from 2013-17. After pitching to a 3.52 ERA in ’17, Shaw went to Colorado and struggled through the ’18 and ’19 seasons, posting a 5.93 ERA and 5.38 ERA, respectively. He was released by the Rockies in July and pitched in six games for the Mariners in 2020.

Johnson spent the 2020 season in Japan, where he posted a combined 3.81 ERA in 30 relief outings between Rakuten and Hiroshima. Johnson pitched in 35 big league games for the Rockies -- where he was teammates with Shaw -- over the ’18 and ’19 seasons. The 31-year-old owns a career 4.88 ERA with 21 walks, 33 strikeouts and a 1.596 WHIP in 31 1/3 frames.

Hembree has posted a 3.90 ERA over his eight-year big league career. He spent seven seasons in Boston before he was traded to the Phillies last August. Between the two clubs in 2020, the 32-year-old posted a combined 9.00 ERA with 20 strikeouts and eight walks in 19 frames.