3 players designated for assignment by Indians; Indians Opening Day roster set

The Indians have designated Preston Guilmet, Frank Herrmann and Colt Hynes for assignment, in order to make room on the 40-man roster for Jason Giambi, Nyjer Morgan, and Scott Atchison. It was already known that those 3 would be on the roster, but it had not yet been announced who was being removed from the roster to make room for them.

Guilmet is a 26-year-old right-handed reliever. He spent most of 2013 with Triple-A Columbus, but also appeared in 4 games with the Indians. He's posted pretty good minor-league numbers in recent years, and is still relatively young, but right-handed relievers will almost always be the first on the chopping block in this sort of situation.

Herrmann is a 29-year-old right-handed reliever. Herrmann spent parts of 2010, 2011, and 2012 with the Indians, and did very well in 2012 (2.33 ERA in 19.1 innings), but he had to have Tommy John surgery last March, causing him to miss the entire season, and he struggled this spring.

Hynes is a 28-year-old left-handed reliever. He was with the Padres until this offseason, when the Indians purchased him from San Diego. He was viewed as a candidate to make the 25-man roster at that point, as the team's second southpaw in the bullpen, but he was pushed down the list as the winter went on, and did not pitch well in the Cactus League.

In addition to those roster moves, Giambi (fractured rib) and Michael Bourn (hamstring) have both been placed on the 15-day disabled list.

OPENING DAY ROSTER

Starting rotation

• Justin Masterson
• Corey Kluber
• Zach McAllister
• Danny Salazar
• Carlos Carrasco

Bullpen

• John Axford (R)
• Cody Allen (R)
• Scott Atchison (R)
• Josh Outman (L)
• Vinnie Pestano (R)
• Marc Rzepczynski (L)
• Bryan Shaw (R)
• Blake Wood (R)

Position Players

• Mike Aviles
• Michael Brantley
• Asdrubal Cabrera
• Lonnie Chisenhall
• Yan Gomes
• Elliot Johnson
• Jason Kipnis
• Nyjer Morgan
• David Murphy
• Ryan Raburn
• Carlos Santana
• Nick Swisher

That's a group with a lot of versatility, and I expect to see a lot of guys playing multiple positions. Johnson and Aviles especially, can fill in almost anywhere on the field. Morgan is the logical man to be sent down when Bourn returns, hopefully after missing no more than 10 games. It's less clear who'll be sent down when Giambi is ready. My fear is Chisenhall, which would be a move I'd really hate. Johnson or one of the 8 relievers would seem to be the other candidates.