Notes: Freeman traded; first camp cuts made

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- It was expected that the Indians would be making their first big round of Spring Training cuts in the near future, but it was less expected that Mike Freeman’s name would pop up on that list.

The Tribe prioritizes talking to veterans on Minor League deals as early in camp as possible so that they can find homes elsewhere if the team knows they would not make its roster. The Indians did that on Thursday with outfielder Billy Hamilton. Freeman, the utility man for the last two seasons, was informed that he was traded to the Reds in exchange for cash considerations on Friday, before the Indians' 9-2 loss to the Dodgers.

“[The Reds] seem to have what they think is a better opportunity for him to maybe not only make their club, but actually play a little bit more,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “Chris [Antonetti], to his credit, told Free, ‘Hey, if we think there’s a better scenario for you, we will look out for you.’ A lot of that is because of the respect we have for Mike.

“It’s not fun saying goodbye to someone you care that much about, but on the flip side, knowing he’s got a really good opportunity kind of made us feel good.”

Over the last two offseasons, the Indians designated Freeman for assignment and re-signed him to a Minor League deal with a non-roster invitation to Spring Training. But now that he’s out of the race for a utility spot, all eyes fall on Yu Chang.

“We’re trying to find out about some of these guys, like a Chang,” Francona said. “Now we have Amed [Rosario] over here. They’re both right-handed hitters and probably complement our roster construction a little bit better. If you’re gonna send someone over to play first base a little bit, which Free can, but if you’re doing it on a day when you’re sitting your lefty, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. There’s no hidden message there. We really think a lot of [Freeman], as a person and as a player.”

Along with Freeman’s trade, the Indians had a handful of other roster moves on Friday, including optioning top prospect Nolan Jones and hurlers Scott Moss, Eli Morgan, Carlos Vargas and Jean Carlos Mejía to Triple-A. The club also reassigned righty Kyle Dowdy and Hamilton to its depth camp.

Moss experienced neck tightness on Thursday, and he’ll look to address that before he begins pitching on the Minor League side. Optioning Morgan, Vargas, Mejía and Jones wasn’t a tremendous surprise; however, the question still remains of when Jones will be able to make his big league debut.

The Tribe talked to Jones before the start of the offseason about seeing time in the outfield, which would certainly help his chances of getting to the big leagues sooner than if he just stayed at third base. With that flexibility, it’d be surprising if Jones wasn’t up on the Major League roster at some point during the 2021 season.

“We know he’s been out in the outfield, he’s certainly played third base, and we asked him if that’s realistic or if we’re putting a burden on him,” Francona said. “And he said, ‘No. I can do that.’ So he’ll play some outfield and some third [in the Minors].”

Luplow update

We’ve already passed the halfway point of Spring Training and outfielder Jordan Luplow still hasn’t been able to see any game action. He sprained his ankle while taking live batting practices in the first few days of camp and received an injection in his ankle last week to help his recovery. After he had his first tests on Wednesday and Thursday with more intense workouts, the Indians are pleased with his progression.

“He's going to hit off the fastball machine in the cage [Saturday],” Francona said. "We're hoping for maybe Tuesday or Wednesday to get him in a game. That's probably fairly realistic as long as there's no setbacks.”