Indians acquire Oliver Drake from Brewers for cash considerations

The Cleveland Indians have acquired relief pitcher Oliver Drake from the Milwaukee Brewers, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Drake was designated for assignment by the Brewers on Monday after posting a 6.39 ERA in 12.2 innings.

Drakes results haven’t been great, but it’s easy to see what the Indians might be hoping for here. The 31-year-old has a career 25.3 percent strikeout rate and he’s kept the ball on the ground 52.9 percent of the time. If you can do those two things, generally, you can work out as a reliever. Unfortunately Drake also gives up a lot of line drives, but rarely does he ever give up home runs; he’s given up zero in 2018.

Walks have been Drake’s biggest killer, but luck has also played a huge part in his struggles this season. His BABIP is .400 in his limited action, and his xwOBA again is a full .033 lower than his actual wOBA against. Meaning, based on the launch angle and exit velocity of opposing hitters, he should be inducing more outs than he has to this point.

Maybe I’m grasping at straws here, but the Indians have nothing left in their bullpen and they’re only send some cash, so it’s hard to be upset. The move will require a 40-man roster move, however. Considering Alexi Ogando pitched yesterday and looked awful at it, maybe it’s him? Is that experiment over already? We’ll likely find out in a couple hours.