The Indians followed up their trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for young catcher Andres Melendez with making some moves on their 40-man roster, getting set for the upcoming Rule 5 Draft which will take place December 12th as part of the 2019 MLB Winter Meetings in San Diego.
Being added to the roster from AAA Columbus were outfielder Daniel Johnson and lefty pitcher Scott Moss.
Top prospect righty pitcher Triston McKenzie was added from the roster of Class-A Lynchburg.
The team also designated righty relief pitcher Nick Goody for assignment, likely ending his three-year career with the Indians.
The team has high hopes for the 24-year-old Johnson, who split the 2019 campaign between AA Akron and AAA Columbus, batting a combined .290 (140-for-483) with 19 homeers and 77 RBI in 123 games.
Johnson put up professional career-highs in virtually every offensive category and finished tied for first among Indians farmhands in extra-base hits (60), tied for third in RBI and fourth in runs.
He was part of the deal with the Washington Nationals that sent catcher Yan Gomes to the Nats last offseason. The team also acquired pitcher Jefry Rodriguez and infielder Andruw Monasterio in that same deal.
Moss was part of the Tribe’s huge end of July trade that involved the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres that sent Trevor Bauer to the Reds, with the Indians getting not only Moss but also outfielders Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes.
The 25-year-old went 10-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 26 combined starts and at the time of the July transaction, he was third in the Southern League in strikeouts (123) while pitching for the AA Chattanooga Lookouts.
Over his six starts in the Indians organization, he posted a 1.26 ERA for Columbus and Akron (4ER/28.2IP).
He was the Reds fourth round pick in the 2016 draft out of the University of Florida.
The 22-year-old McKenzie owns a career Minor League ERA of 2.68 over 59 professional starts (329.0IP, 230H, 98ER, 98BB, 394SO, .194 avg) since his first round selection (42nd overall) in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft.
He did not pitch last season due to right rotator cuff and right pectoral injuries.
McKenzie is touted as the second-best prospect in the system entering 2020 (MLB.com) and began 2019 as the 41st overall prospect in MLB (MLB.com).
In three seasons with the Tribe, Goody appeared in 107 games out of the pen with a 3.53 ERA. He threw in 39 games in 2019 with a mark of 3-2 and an ERA of 3.54.
He allowed seven homers in 40.2 innings pitched, with 50 strikeouts and 22 walks.
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