Trevor Crowe Makes Cleveland Indians Roster, David Dellucci Moved To DL

As speculated yesterday, Cleveland Indians rookie outfielder Trevor Crowe will break camp with the big league club. David Dellucci's nagging injuries (thumb, calf) and his one-dimensional game (hitting left handed) made the move an easy one for the Tribe.

Crowe had a great spring, batting .289 with six stolen bases. His all-out hustle and speed will be an added component to the team. Don't expect him to waste away on the bench, though, because I have a feeling that the skipper will definitely find at-bats for him a few times a week to keep Francisco and Choo (and maybe even Hafner) fresh.

We may, fortunately, have seen the last of ole' Double D, since he will be out a minimum of two weeks with a Triple A rehabilitation surely to follow. If Crowe rips it up at the major league level and Dellucci is wallowing in mediocrity in Columbus, the Tribe will probably cut bait a la Aaron Fultz last season and eat his robust $4 million contract.

Outfielders who can't field, run, or throw, and can barely hit at age 35, are not much of a hot commodity within baseball in these economic times. David seemed to be a good clubhouse guy, but an albatross out in the field.

This move reminds me a bit of when Grady Sizemore was going to be sent down in 2005 in favor of Juan Gonzalez. While Crowe will probably never be Grady, more youth and position flexibility is never a bad thing to have off of your bench.

After coming close to not making the team in Spring Training, he stepped into the starting lineup after Juan Gonzalez's injury and made it impossible for manager Eric Wedge to pull him out of the lineup.

Here is what Wedge had to say about Sizemore back then: "He plays the game hard...He plays the game the right way."

The skipper had high praise for Trevor also...

Crowe played well enough to make the ballclub,'' Wedge said. ''He has every tool that you want to see in a young player."

We will have to wait and see how it plays out. Crowe is in the in the lineup for tonight's game against San Diego (televised locally on STO), so it will be interesting to see how he responds to his good fortunes. These roster issues usually seem to work themselves out over time (Michaels, Borowski, Julio circa 2008), so this move seems to be a positive one.

All I know is that I am not upset at the idea of seeing Trevor Crowe get some major league at bats instead of a broken-down aging veteran.

Quotes courtesy of www.indians.com and www.ohio.com