The Indians have called up 28-year old lefty reliever/starter David Huff to replace Lonnie Chisenhall (demoted to AAA) on the active roster.  Huff will likely work as the long man out of the pen for the Tribe.  Huff pitched in 9 games (2 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he was 3-1 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.  Huff has pitched in 55 games (52 starts) in his first four years with the Indians and he is 18-26 with a 5.30 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP.  Huff is likely running out of chances with the Indians, so it would be smart of him to impress them this time around.

20-year old switch-hitting outfielder Luigi Rodriguez is off to a good start in A-ball for the Tribe this year.  Rodriguez has played in 32 games in A-ball so far this year for the Indians and he is 31 for 112 (.277 avg, .710 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 1 homer, 11 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  Rodriguez has now played in 271 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 286 of 1,008 (.284 avg, .773 OPS) with 164 runs scored, 17 homers, 105 RBIs and 79 stolen bases.  Rodriguez came into this season as the Indians’ #7 prospect according to Baseball America.  The Indians will likely take things slowly with Rodriguez.

The Indians have designated 23-year old switch-hitting 1B Michael McDade for assignment.  McDade played in 21 games in AAA-ball for the Indians this year and he was 17 for 74 (.230 avg, .597 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 7 RBIs.  McDade has now played in 651 games in his first seven years in the minors and he is 643 of 2,438 (.264 avg, .739 OPS) with 281 runs scored, 76 homers, 332 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  The Indians needed McDade’s roster spot for outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, who they recently claimed off waivers from the Phillies.

UPDATE:  (5/7/2013) – The Indians have lost Michael McDade on waivers to the White Sox.

The Indians have released 28-year old righty swinging 2B Matt Antonelli.  He played in 3 games in AAA-ball for the Indians this year and he was 0 for 6 (.000 avg, .250 OPS).  His lone appearance in the majors came back in 2008 with the Padres.  Antonelli played in 21 games for the Padres in 2008 for the Padres and he was 11 for 57 (.193 avg, .573 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs.  This is not much of a loss for the Tribe moving forward.

29-year old righty reliever Matt Capps is off to a good start in AAA-ball for the Indians in 2013.  He has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  He has given up 6 hits and he has walked 1 batter while whiffing 3 in his first 7 innings pitched so far this year, which is impressive.  Capps pitched in 30 games (0 starts) for the Twins last year and he was 1-4 with 14 saves, a 3.68 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.  Capps has now pitched in 444 games (0 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 29-33 with 138 saves, a 3.52 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.  Capps isn’t going to stay in the minors much longer, so the Indians will likely be forced to make a decision on him in the very near future.