At 25, Stevens will be added to the 40-man roster before the upcoming Rule V draft to protect him. Once on the 40-man, there will be less of a reason to keep him down if he keeps dominating as he has the past two seasons since becoming a reliever in the Tribe farm system.
He may be up by May and be an integral part of the Indians staff, and too just as Miller may, become the Indians closer by 2010.
The other of the premier trio of AAA prospects, is a left-hander Tony Sipp. He at one time was thought to be listed ahead of Rafael Perez on the depth charts before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the 2007 season. He also has a plus-slider/fastball combo that along with his change-up net huge strikeout totals, even after his injury. Sipp struck out 46 batters in 33.2 innings with a 2.67 ERA after his return in June.
Sipp is set to start at AAA Columbus for his first taste of AAA hitters before reaching the big leagues. He, just as Stevens and Meloan, is on the 40-man roster and may be called up at any time. Again, if all goes well, he will be up and begin getting experience to become an important part of the 2010 bullpen, and maybe even next seasons.
Other options are less exciting but remain very plausible major-league options. Rich Rundles found a way to rejuvenate his career as a lefty-specialist last season as he managed to significantly increase strikeout totals, and he even made the jump to Cleveland in September with brief positive work. Tom Mastny will also still be around as a depth option with minor league options remaining.
Both are 28 and in make-or-break years in their progression. There is potential there to be serviceable relievers, but they quickly may be passed over by the talent pool.
There is one last option, and quite honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if he will be put available on waivers. Eddie Mujica is out of options for next season, and has to be on the 25-man roster unless he clears waivers.
As we saw, there is a spot available for him, but locking him and Jackson both into the bullpen would leave no flexibility, and really, has Eddie Mujica really shown us anything with his 6.02 ERA in 70 career innings? Put me into the boat of placing him on waivers to protect
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