Indians and Tampa Bay Rays complete trade

CLEVELAND, OH - The Cleveland Indians today announced the following transactions relative to the 2019 Major League and 40-man roster:

Acquired INF CHRISTIAN ARROYO and RHP HUNTER WOOD from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for OF RUBEN CARDENAS and 2019-2020 International Signing Period slot money.

Transferred RHP JEFRY RODRIGUEZ to the 60-day Injured List.

Arroyo, 24, has split the 2019 season between AAA Durham and Tampa Bay, spending three stints with the Rays prior to suffering a right forearm injury on June 12. He is currently on the 60-day Injured List and prior to the injury batted .314 (38-for-121) with 9 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR & 29 RBI in 33 games for Durham (.381/.603/.984). Over his three stints in Tampa Bay, he batted .220 (11-for-50) with 2 2B, 2 HR and 7 RBI in 16 games, appearing in 13 games at third base and one game at second base.

The Tampa, FL native was San Francisco’s first round pick (25th overall) in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft and has appeared in 70 games at the Major League level since debuting in 2017 with the Giants. He was acquired by the Rays in December 2017 in a trade that sent 3B Evan Longoria to the Giants.

Wood, 25, has spent most of the season with Tampa Bay, posting a mark of 1-1 with a 2.48 ERA in 19 games/two starts (29.0IP, 26H, 8ER, 7BB, 24SO, 1.14 WHIP, .236 avg). The Rogers, Arkansas native has posted a 2.45 ERA over his last eight outings since June 6 (3ER/11.0IP/8H) and has limited left-handed batters to a .214 (9-for-42, 8 1B, 1 2B) average against. Over his two “opening” starts he has not allowed an earned run in 4.0 innings. He was Tampa Bay’s 29th round selection in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Howard College (TX) and owns a three-year MLB career ERA of 3.20 (70.1IP, 68H, 25ER, 25BB, 66SO) since debuting with the Rays in 2017.

Arroyo remains on the 60-day Injured List and Wood has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus.

“We are excited to add Hunter and Christian to our organization. Hunter has pitched in a variety of roles throughout his Major League Career over the last two seasons, relying on his fastball-cutter-changeup mix,” said Cleveland Indians President of Baseball Operations CHRIS ANTONETTI. “Although Christian is currently rehabbing from an injury, we really like his bat-to-ball skills and defensive versatility to play a number of infield positions. We believe both players have a chance to contribute to our Major League team in the near future.”