Revamping the left side of their infield, the Cleveland Indians made several transactions Sunday after a 7-3 loss to the Orioles in the series finale at Baltimore.
Cleveland optioned third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall and shortstop Jose Ramirez to Triple-A Columbus. The Indians announced that they will promote infielders Zach Walters and Giovanny Urshela from Columbus ahead of the team’s next game, Tuesday against the visiting Seattle Mariners.
Urshela might take over as the new third baseman, while Mike Aviles, whose playing time increased recently, figures to be the primary shortstop.
A 23-year-old Colombian, Urshela hit .275 with a .301 on-base percentage, a .475 slugging percentage, three homers and nine RBIs in 21 games for Columbus this season. He has no major league experience.
Walters, 25, batted .259/.309/.411 with two homers and 15 RBIs in 30 Triple-A games. He played seven games for Cleveland earlier this year, going 1-for-17. He has previous major league experience with the Washington Nationals in 2013 and 2014 before appearing in 30 games with the Indians last year.
Ramirez, 22, hit just .180/.247/.240 with one homer and eight RBIs in 46 games with Cleveland this year.
Chisenhall, 26, is returning for the minors for the first time since 2013. He batted .209/.241/.345 with four homers and 19 RBIs in 52 major league games this year.