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The injured list is getting crowded in Cleveland, with Eddie Rosario headed to the 10-day injured list due to a right abdominal strain. The club has called up Daniel Johnson from Columbus to take his place on the roster. Cleveland has also optioned starting pitcher Logan Allen to Triple-A, bringing up right-handed reliever D.J. Johnson to add to the bullpen. Josh Naylor was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for D.J. Johnson on the 40-man roster.
Rosario becomes the ninth Cleveland player to end up on the injured list this season. Austin Hedges, Franmil Reyes, and Roberto Perez have all returned to action, but Zach Plesac, Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Jordan Luplow, and Josh Naylor all remain on the injured list.
Rosario first experienced right abdominal soreness in Cleveland’s series-opening loss to the Astros on Thursday, making his exit in the third inning. An MRI came back clear and Rosario returned to action the following Saturday. But in Monday night’s series opener against the Rays, Rosario left the game in the second inning, citing right abdominal tightness.
After an underwhelming start to the season, Rosario started to show signs of life in June, slashing .283/.306/.413. But his bat seems to have been sapped of its power, with only seven home runs this season and a career-low .134 Isolated Power (ISO).
Daniel Johnson returns to the big league club after a brief two-game stint back in May, during which he failed to reach base in nine plate appearances and struck out 55.6% of the time. With Triple-A Columbus, Johnson has struggled this season, boasting a slash line of .218/.298/.420 in 215 plate appearances. Now he’ll have the opportunity to find his footing in Cleveland, where there are ample at-bats to go around in the outfield with Rosario, Naylor, and Luplow sidelined.
The other D.J. joining the team in Tampa is a journeyman reliever who has bounced between a number of organizations over the last decade. He spent last season in Japan after being released by the Colorado Rockies and signing a one-year deal with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Cleveland signed him to a minor league contract in February and he has appeared in 17 games for the Clippers this season, recording a 3.63 ERA over 17.1 innings of work.