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Indians add lefty Milner in Rule 5 Draft
- Updated: December 8, 2016
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Indians know they have one of the best left-handed relievers in the game in Andrew Miller. What Cleveland would like to do this offseason is improve the level of lefty depth behind Miller in the team’s talented bullpen.
The Indians took a step in that direction on Thursday, when the club wrapped up the Winter Meetings by taking lefty Hoby Milner with the 15th pick in the Rule 5 Draft. Cleveland grabbed Milner off the Triple-A roster of the Phillies and will bring the reliever to Spring Training with a chance to win a job in the Tribe’s Opening Day bullpen.
“He’s one of those guys who we felt was worth taking a shot on,” said Indians assistant general manager Carter Hawkins, who oversees the farm system. “His makeup checked out and it certainly seemed like a guy that potentially could help us out in the Major Leagues. So, we’re interested to get a better look at him.”
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The Indians, who now have one vacancy on their 40-man roster, spent $100,000 to select Milner, who must remain on Cleveland’s active roster all season. If the Indians want to remove the left-hander from the roster at any point, they must first offer him back to the Phillies for a cost of $50,000.
As things currently stand, the Indians’ bullpen projects to include Miller, Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Dan Otero and Zach McAllister. There are a slew of contenders for the two or three remaining spots. The main left-handed options behind Miller include Kyle …
