Cleveland Indians: Colt Hynes Is a Nice Depth Addition

Colt Hynes will add quality depth to the Cleveland Indians’ bullpen

Yesterday evening, news broke that the Cleveland Indians had signed Colt Hynes to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus. Hynes is by no means a big-name player, and his addition will certainly not be as impactful as that of Andrew Miller. Still, the addition is a nice move by the Cleveland Indians to add a little more depth to the bullpen. 

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Hynes, 31, has spent the past few seasons in the Toronto Blue Jays’ system. While he has only surfaced in the major leagues twice, once in 2013 with the San Diego Padres and once last year, for a combined total of 20 innings, he has been quite excellent in the minor leagues. Since the start of last season, he has posted a 3.44 earned run average to go along with excellent advanced metrics.

Not only has he succeeded at preventing runs, but he has also posted good strikeout and walk rates. He has walked 2.89 batters per nine innings over the past two seasons against an above average 8.68 strikeouts per nine innings. These rates are even better when looking at just this season, although he has also allowed a few more runs. Over 37 innings of minor league work, he has struck out 43, walked seven, and allowed 14 earned runs.

Still, he has the potential to be useful to the Indians at some point this year. They have been cycling through pitchers quite quickly after the injury to Danny Salazar, with the latest change happening yesterday when the Indians called up Mike Clevinger and Ryan Merritt. Clevinger made the start yesterday, but Merritt was called up to add more bullpen depth. Now he joins Andrew Miller and Kyle Crockett as the left-handed options in the bullpen.

If Merritt or Crocket fumbles in the future, it is entirely possible that Colt Hynes could spend some time on the big league team. Merritt has worked almost exclusively as a starting pitcher in the minors, although he did make his major league debut as a relief pitcher. Granted, he pitched just over four innings in that debut, so he may not be a true relief pitcher.

The other lefty in the bullpen with a chance of being demoted, Kyle Crockett, is very much unlike Ryan Merritt. Although they are both 24 years old, Crockett rocketed through the minor leagues unlike Merritt’s more typical journey over five years. He reached the majors just a year after being drafted, and he dazzled down the stretch with a 1.80 earned run average and 1.13 WHIP. He fell on tougher times in the following season, and the struggles have carried over into this year so far.

Next: Indians Recall Mike Clevinger, Ryan Merritt

Despite the very different journeys to the major leagues, all three lefties are soft-tossers with a chance to eat up some innings for the Tribe this year. If the Indians continue cycling through left-handed relievers or either Merritt or Crockett fall on hard times, Colt Hynes will have a chance to make an impact at the major league level. Sure, he may not be a shiny addition, but sometimes the best moves are the ones that get the least attention.