Transactions: McAllister Up; Another Waiver Wire Claim

Recalled RHP Zach McAllister from Columbus (AAA)

Optioned LHP Scott Barnes to Columbus (AAA)

Barnes was only up to give the Indians a bigger bullpen before McAllister was needed; he made just one appearance in this stint with the Indians, but it was a good one (2.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 3 SO). I'm not sure if the Indians are going to keep Barnes in the bullpen, or if they'll put him back in the Columbus rotation. With Rafael Perez still out and Sipp and Hagadone both struggling, they may need Barnes to play a big role in the major-league bullpen down the stretch. But I hope that that would be temporary, and that the Indians still view Barnes as a future major league starter.

The Indians have sure gotten good mileage out of a couple deadline deals made two seasons ago. Both McAllister (Austin Kearns) and Corey Kluber (Jake Westbrook) are legtimate starter depth at this point, and obviously Zach's track record at the major league level has gotten to the point where he's much more than that now. McAllister has pitched at the AAA level for three straight seasons, but he's only 24 years old. He was drafted out of high school in the third round of the 2006 draft, made it to AAA in 2010 on schedule, but really struggled that season. Perhaps if he hadn't been struggling he would have been pitching for the Yankees by then instead of being dealt to Cleveland for a reserve outfielder.

McAllister threw 171 innings between Columbus and Cleveland last season, so I don't think he'll be on any sort of innings limit this season. He's reduced his hits/inning each of the last two seasons, and has shown the ability to get strikeouts on both his fastball and his slider, a very good sign.

Claimed OF Vinny Rottino off Waivers from the New York Mets

Designated RHP Chris Schwinden for Assignment

The Indians are obviously looking for right-handed outfielders, so when Rottino, a pernnial AAA All-Star, was available after a short stint with the Mets, the Indians couldn't resist pulling the trigger. Rottino is 32 years old but only has 78 major league plate appearances under his belt. Rottino has played all over the diamond, including some at catcher, but he's mostly a corner guy (RF, LF, 1B. 3B). He was hitting .307/.361/.479 with Buffalo before spending a couple months on the Mets bench.

The 40-man spot that Rottino is taking was also a waiver claim from the Mets Schwinden hadn't shown much in three starts for the Clippers, allowing 16 hits (including 4 home runs) in 15.1 innings, only striking out 5 batters.