Indians: Impending Rule 5 Draft decisions to be made

The Good Bet

Scott Moss – LHP

Scott Moss was added in the Trevor Bauer deal this past summer and appears likely to get protected as well. He pitched in both Double-A and Triple-A in 2019 and could actually be in line for a bullpen spot with the big league club as early as this spring.

Worked as a starter so far in the minors, he has the stuff that could play up in the bullpen and given the arms ahead of him for the rotation, a move to the bullpen would not be shocking, especially after the release of Tyler Olson, leaving only Oliver Perez as a non-closing left-hander in the bullpen.

Between the Reds and Indians, Moss made 26 starts in 2019 throwing 130 2/3 innings and posting an impressive 2.96 ERA. He also struck out 11 batters per nine innings. He did have some issues with walks (nearly four per nine innings), which is another reason he may end up in the pen. He was only 24 years old in 2019 as well so youth is on his side.

Regardless of how the Indians feel about him as a starter or reliever, Moss is the type of guy that screams draftable in the Rule 5 Draft. A team could hide him as the eighth man in the pen or a spot starter. Maybe his stuff plays up right away, even if he doesn’t he could be a mop-up guy in the pen.

I almost put Moss in the “near lock” category but he’s the third add behind Johnson and McKenzie so if the Tribe decides not to cut anyone else before the deadline he would be left off. But I honestly just don’t see how the Indians could justify keeping some of the deadweight on their roster over Moss, especially after trading Bauer for him.

Odds of being rostered: 85%